HR1504 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1504 LRB095 22372 GRL 52704 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of John Younker Simon, who passed away on July 8, 2008; and

WHEREAS, John Simon was born on June 25, 1933 in Highland Park; he graduated from Swarthmore College and received his master's degree and Ph.D., both in history, from Harvard University, where he met his future wife, Harriet; and

WHEREAS, John Simon taught at Ohio State University before joining the faculty at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1964; for 44 years, he taught history at SIU, teaching courses on the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the history of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, John Simon also devoted much of his life to his true vocation, the Ulysses S. Grant papers project; he began the project, which comprises thousands of documents and annotations, in 1962 and was nearing completion at the time of his passing; in total, he had published 28 volumes, with volumes 29 and 30 scheduled for release in 2008 by the Southern Illinois University Press and a supplemental volume and an annotated edition of Grant's memoirs to follow; he was awarded a Lincoln Prize in 2004 in recognition of his efforts to bring the writings of Ulysses S. Grant to light; he also served as the executive director of the Ulysses S. Grant Association; and

WHEREAS, An accomplished historical author, John Simon wrote or edited a number of books dealing with Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and the American Civil War, as well as dozens of journal articles on 19th-century American history subjects; and

WHEREAS, John Simon is survived by his wife, Harriet Simon; his sister, Barbara Stuart; his daughter, Ellen Roundtree; and his two grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of John Y. Simon; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of John Y. Simon as an expression of our sympathy.