HR1504

LRB095 22372 GRL 52704 r






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HOUSE RESOLUTION


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

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

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

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


 






HR1504
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LRB095 22372 GRL 52704 r




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the writings of Ulysses S. Grant to light; he also served as 
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the executive director of the Ulysses S. Grant Association; and

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

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

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

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