SR0763 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0763 LRB099 13147 MST 37036 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Earl R. Swanson of Savoy, who passed away on July 2, 2015; and

WHEREAS, Earl Swanson was born on the Nels Swanson Farm near Reilly in Vermilion County on on May 26, 1921 to S. Gustaf and Alice Erikson Swanson; he attended grade and high school in East Lynn and graduated with highest honors from the University of Illinois College of Agriculture in 1943; during World War II, he served as an infantry platoon leader with the 25th "Tropic Lightning" Division in Luzon, Philippine Islands; he married Janice E. "Becky" Beckstrom on June 23, 1951 in Rock Island; and

WHEREAS, Earl Swanson farmed with his father on the Erikson Farm from May of 1946 to September of 1947; he received a Master of Science in Agriculture Economics from the University of Minnesota in 1948 and a Ph.D. in Agriculture Economics from Iowa State University in 1951; in 1948, he attended summer school at the University of Oslo, Norway; he joined the Department of Agriculture Economics at the University of Illinois in 1950 and taught farm management until being recalled to active duty during the Korean Conflict; he served in the United States Army as a Captain in the Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4, in Washington, D.C.; he returned to the University of Illinois in 1952 and remained on the faculty of the Department of Agriculture Economics until his retirement in 1984; he served as associate head of the Department of Agriculture Economics from 1968 to 1970 and as acting head from 1974 to 1975; and

WHEREAS, Earl Swanson published over 100 articles in journals and chapters in books and was thesis supervisor to more than 20 doctoral candidates; he was visiting professor at Hokkaido University, Japan, in the summer of 1958 and from 1958 to 1959; he was a Senior Fulbright Research Scholar at the Royal College of Agriculture in Denmark; he participated in the US-USSR Cultural Exchange Program in 1963, lecturing at Moscow State University and Leningrad State University. He was a Ford Foundation consultant at Uttar Pradesh Agriculture University in India in 1968; in 1976, he was a research scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria, and was visiting professor at the Institute of Economics and Statistics, Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences in 1984; and

WHEREAS, Earl Swanson's government service included membership on advisory committees to the United States Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Defense, the National Academy of Sciences, and to the Agency for International Development of the Department of State; he participated in agricultural assistance evaluations in Egypt, Mexico, and the islands of Antigua and St. Vincent in the West Indies; he served as editor of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics from 1965 to 1968 and was elected a Fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association in 1977; and

WHEREAS, Earl Swanson received the Quality of Communication Award from the American Agricultural Economics Association in 1978; he received the University of Illinois College of Agriculture Alumni Award of Merit in 1976 and the Paul A. Funk Award in 1977; he was a member of Grace Lutheran Church, the Heimskringla Society, the Nabor House Fraternity, and the Champaign Lions Club; and

WHEREAS, Earl Swanson was preceded in death by his wife, Janice; his son, Rolf; and his sister, Agnes E. Umbanhowar; and

WHEREAS, Earl Swanson is survived by his son, Paul (Phyllis) Swanson; his daughter, Ann (Mikel) O'Klock; his 3 grandchildren, Sarah (Nate) Nickel, Jonathon (Ashleigh) Swanson, and Erika Swanson; and his 4 great-granddaughters, Kaydence, Isabella, Payge, and Samantha; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Earl R. Swanson, 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 Earl Swanson as an expression of our deepest sympathy.