HR0274 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0274 LRB095 11859 KXB 35039 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of retired Judge and former State Representative Rolland F. Tipsword of Taylorville, who passed away on April 5, 2007; and

WHEREAS, He was born August 19, 1925, in Monticello, the son of Leo Clemit and Jossie Banning Fortner Tipsword; he graduated from Beecher City Community Unit High School in 1943 and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Idaho in 1949, where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity; he graduated with honors from Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago in 1951; and

WHEREAS, He was admitted to the Illinois Bar in September of 1951; Mr. Tipsword served as Clerk to Illinois Supreme Court Justice Harry Hershey from the years 1951 to 1954 and 1957 to 1960; he later became an associate partner in the Hershey & Bliss Law Firm; he served as Christian County State's Attorney during the years of 1960 to 1966; he was a partner in the Tipsword & Fraley Law Firm, which later became the Coale, Taylor, Tipsword, Fraley & Doyle Law Firm; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Tipsword was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, serving Districts 50 and 51 during the years 1966 to 1979; he served as Circuit Judge, 4th Judicial District of Illinois from 1983 to 1993; he served on the Illinois Supreme Court Committee to prepare first Illinois pattern jury instructions; he was elected as a delegate to the 1980 Democratic National Convention; he was Past President of the Christian County, Illinois Bar Association; and

WHEREAS, Judge Tipsword was extremely active in the Grand Chapter Order of the Eastern Star of Illinois and the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons of Illinois; he received the Meritorious Service Award in 1975 and the 33rd Degree, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in 1977; he also served as Worthy Grand Patron of the Order of the Eastern Star in 1970; he was a member of the Haslemere Chapter 221 in Taylorville, and a member of the White Shrine of Jerusalem in Springfield; and

WHEREAS, Rolland Tipsword was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, where he served as a past Deacon and Elder; he was a member of Taylorville Elks Club, Taylorville Eagles Club, Taylorville Moose Club, American Legion, and the VFW; he was a charter member of the Taylorville Kiwanis Club; and he served in the United States Navy, Pacific Theatre, during the years of 1942 to 1946; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Tipsword never married; surviving are several cousins; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family, friends, and the people of the City of Taylorville, the passing of Rolland Tipsword and extend our sincere condolences to all who knew him at this time; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Coale, Taylor, Tipsword, Fraley & Doyle Law Firm as a symbol of our sympathy.