HR0649 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0649 LRB097 14991 KXB 60033 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of former Mt. Vernon Mayor Rolland Lewis, who passed away on November 5, 2011; and

WHEREAS, He was born to Chester and Lillian (Fair) Lewis in Chicago on October 13, 1930; he was an active member and lay reader of the Trinity Episcopal Church in Mt. Vernon; he attended Caldwell Grade School and graduated from Bowen High School, after which he attended the first 2 years at the University of Illinois Chicago Annex; and

WHEREAS, On June 25, 1952, he married Sally Watts; he proudly served his country in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War as a Gunnery Sergeant; he spent 5 months in combat with the 1st Marine Division before being wounded and spending several months recovering in a hospital in Japan; and

WHEREAS, In 1959, he moved to Mt. Vernon with his wife, Sally, and became active in the community; he was a real estate manager, ran Lewis and Farley Construction Co., started and ran House de Lions, Ltd., and participated, with his long-time friend, David Flota, in the upstart of a new company called Mr. Ice; and

WHEREAS, He was instrumental in bringing the YMCA to Mt. Vernon and served as its president; he later served as vice president of the Southern Illinois YMCA, becoming a drive chairman for the United Fund in Jefferson County, and was active in the VFW, AMVETS, and American Legion; he was elected as Mayor of Mt. Vernon as well as precinct committeeman in the Shiloh 4 precinct; his tenure as Mayor of Mt. Vernon lasted from 1969 to 1977 and again from 1985 to 1997; and

WHEREAS, He served as past president of the Illinois Municipal League, helped form the Southern Illinois Mayors Association (SIMA), serving as president 3 times; he served on the Illinois Economic Board, the Illinois Commission on the Future of Public Service, and the Environmental Financial Advisory Board for the United States EPA in Washington, D.C.; he served on the Governor's Advisory Board under the Ogilvie administration and the Illinois Law Enforcement Administration as an appointee of Governor Thompson; he was also appointed by Governor Edgar and Governor Ryan and confirmed by the Senate as Chairman of the Board of Review for the Department of Employment Security for 14 years; and

WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his parents and his son, Jeffrey George Lewis Sr.; and

WHEREAS, Rolland Lewis is survived by his wife of more than 59 years, Sally Lewis; his sons, John Lewis and wife, Pam, Brian Lewis and wife, Kathy, and Robert Lewis; his daughter-in-law, Minda Lewis; his 16 grandchildren: and his 8 great-grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Rolland Lewis; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Rolland Lewis as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.