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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3to learn of the death of G. Cullom Davis of Springfield, who
4passed away on September 9, 2022; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Cullom Davis was born to George and Elizabeth
6(Scripps) Davis in Aurora on May 2, 1935; he was raised in
7Peoria; he completed high school at the Lawrenceville School
8in New Jersey; he earned his degree in History from Princeton
9University in 1957, where he was a member of the Tiger Inn; he
10taught History at the Punahou School in Hawaii before
11returning to study at the University of Illinois at
12Urbana-Champaign, where he earned his Ph.D. in American
13History in 1968; he married Ann Chapman on May 27, 1976; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Cullom Davis joined the History Department at
15Indiana University in Bloomington, where he taught for five
16years before being recruited in 1969 to be among the founding
17faculty of Sangamon State University (SSU), which became the
18University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS); he was a
19creative, enthusiastic educator devoted to student learning
20and developing SSU and its mission as a multidisciplinary
21public affairs institution; he brought the discipline of Oral
22History to the university, creating and leading its Oral
23History Office; he was an ardent supporter of the arts and

 

 

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1Prairie Stars soccer; he held several administrative
2leadership roles during his 39 years of service at SSU/UIS;
3and
 
4    WHEREAS, Cullom Davis authored several seminal oral
5history texts, including Oral History: From Tape to Type in
61977; he also designed and promoted the Public History
7concentration of the master's degree in History; in service to
8his profession, he served on boards and presided over many
9state and national professional organizations; he was
10presented countless awards for his advocacy, innovation, and
11expertise in history; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Cullom Davis became the director of the Lincoln
13Legal Papers in 1981, a project focused on discovering,
14interpreting, indexing, and digitizing all known legal works
15of Abraham Lincoln that became the most comprehensive
16chronicling of Lincoln's legal career; he served in that
17capacity until his retirement in 2008; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Cullom Davis' many years in Springfield were
19marked by civic interests, including supporting Planned
20Parenthood, desegregating Springfield Public Schools,
21expanding the Lincoln Memorial Gardens, educating the public
22on the Springfield Race Riot of 1908, and providing advisory
23work in the creation of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential

 

 

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1Library; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Cullom Davis served on the board of directors of
3Springfield Marine Bank until its purchase by Banc One and as a
4trustee of the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund; he also
5was active in politics, serving as an alternate delegate of
6Illinois at the Democratic Party Presidential Convention in
7Miami in 1972; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Cullom Davis was preceded in death by his parents
9and his sister, Mary Scripps Swayngim; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Cullom Davis is survived by his wife, Ann
11(Chapman) Davis; his children, Cathy Davis Lunday, Lesa Davis,
12Cully Davis, John Giordano, and Mark Giordano; and his eight
13grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
14    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
15ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
16G. Cullom Davis and extend our sincere condolences to his
17family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
18further
 
19    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20presented to the family of Cullom Davis as an expression of our
21deepest sympathy.