SR0842 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0842 LRB096 22405 GRL 41555 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of George R. Arnold of Edwardsville, who passed away on May 14, 2010; and

WHEREAS, George Arnold was born September 11, 1916, in Carbondale; he was the son of the late William Edward and Elizabeth H., nee Scott, Arnold; he married Mildred Caviness on December 22, 1956, in Pinckneyville; and

WHEREAS, George Arnold was a veteran of the U.S. Navy during World War II; he became an Ensign at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in 1942; he served as an instructor of physics, navigation, and meteorology for the naval cadets in Glenview Naval Air Station in Glenview; he then received 12 months of instruction in Aerology in Annapolis, Maryland in 1943 and 1944; he was then assigned to the Naval Station in the Port of Spain at Trinidad, West Indies; from 1945 to 1946, he served as an instructor at the naval air station in Corpus Christie, Texas; after his service in the military, he was a partner in Arnold Orchards in Carbondale, specializing in apples and peaches; and

WHEREAS, George Arnold retired as a professor of physics and environmental science after 10 years at SIU-Carbondale and 17 years at SIU-Edwardsville; he received his bachelor's degree in education, physics, and mathematics from SIU-Carbondale in 1939; he then received his master's degree in physics from the University of Illinois in 1940 and his doctor of science degree in environmental science from Washington University; he was the first person to receive a doctorate on air pollution from Washington University; and

WHEREAS, George Arnold was an active member in many organizations; he served as president of the Lewis & Clark Society, acting president of MCCA, executive secretary of IMRPAC, chairman of the Illinois Corridor, co-chair of the Illinois-Missouri Trails Coalition, archivist for the Marquette-Joliet Tercentennial, chairman of the Piasa Palisades Sierra Group, president of the Vadalabene Nature Trail Volunteers, secretary of the Grassroots Trailnet Committee, member of the Mississippi River Corridor Study Commission, and a member of the MRPC; and

WHEREAS, George Arnold was the recipient of the Edwardsville Meritorious Service Award in 1959; in 2000, he was honored by the Madison County Transit for the role he played to pave the way for a world-class bikeway system in Madison County; in 1970, George, along with the help of Senator Sam Vadalabene, introduced legislation for creating bikeways throughout the State of Illinois; in 1986, he promoted Wood River as the number one site of the National Lewis and Clark Trail as a member of the Lewis and Clark Society; he, along with Congressman Jerry Costello and Governor Jim Edgar, helped obtain 7 million dollars for the construction of the new Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Interpretive Center, which had 185,000 visitors during its 1st year; and

WHEREAS, George Arnold was preceded in death by his wife and his brothers, Clyde Arnold, Clarence Arnold, and Ralph Arnold; and

WHEREAS, George Arnold is survived by his sister, Marian Calnon, and his many nieces and nephews; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of George R. Arnold; and be it further

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