SR1577 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1577 LRB098 21838 MST 60695 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Thomas Dudley Ferguson of Oak Park, who passed away on March 16, 2014; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Ferguson was born in Hinsdale on August 23, 1938 to Mildred (nee Whitt) and James Carroll Ferguson; he was raised in La Grange and graduated from Cossitt Avenue Elementary School and Lyons Township High School; he married Carole Lindner Ferguson in 1959; he received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana in 1962; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Ferguson began his teaching career at Elmwood Park High School in 1962; in 1965, he and his family settled in Oak Park; he joined the Oak Park and River Forest High School (OPRF) history department in 1967, where he taught until his retirement in 1994; from 1986 to 1994 he served as chairman of the history department; in 1988, he started "Interpretations", an annual publication of the finest scholarly history writing by OPRF students; he was always delighted to hear from former students, who would stop him on the street decades later to tell him how much they had learned in his class; in 1970, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach for a year at the Sherborne School in Sherborne, Dorset, England, and, in the summer of 1971, the family embarked on a memorable 6-week-long camping trip through western Europe, Scandinavia, and the former Soviet Union; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Ferguson enjoyed jazz, photography, road trips, good food, family history, hometown newspapers, C-Span, the Civil War, old movies, tennis, and the White Sox; he and his wife traveled together to all 50 states, the Middle East, Costa Rica, and Canada; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Ferguson was preceded in death by his daughter, Christine; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Ferguson is survived by his wife, Carole; his daughters Sarah (William Neuman) and Heather (Annika Fjelstad); his beloved grandchildren, Max, Emma, and Romy Neuman and Josiah and Gabe Fjelstad Ferguson; and a large and loving extended family; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Thomas Dudley Ferguson, and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

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