SR0640 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0640 LRB097 20728 KXB 67147 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of William "Bill" Coburn Fox of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, formerly of Champaign, who passed away on February 29, 2012; and

WHEREAS, He was born April 2, 1925, in Carthage, New York, the son of Reba Coburn Fox and William Mould Fox; he married Alice Boulware on September 4, 1948; and

WHEREAS, He entered Williams College at age 16, leaving after 2 years to serve in the Navy; he was the leader of an elite Underwater Demolitions Team that helped secure Iwo Jima and Okinawa; his unit received the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions at Iwo Jima and he was awarded the Silver Star for his service; and

WHEREAS, After the war, he returned to Williams College and graduated cum laude; he later graduated from Harvard Business School in June 1949 with an MBA degree; he started his career with Climax Corporation in Washington, D.C.; and

WHEREAS, In 1950, he and Alice moved to her hometown of Champaign, and he joined his father-in-law in his business, White Line Laundry; after managing White Line, he joined First National Bank as vice president and then moved to president in 1971 and bank chairman in 1977; he led the bank's growth and expansion culminating in a merger with other Illinois banks to form Midwest Financial Group, now PNC bank, retiring in December 1988; and

WHEREAS, During his business career, he served as chairman of Carle Foundation and was a board member at Clifford Jacobs and Gill Company; he was appointed a board member by former Governor Edgar to the Illinois State Board of Investment; he was active in local charities, serving as treasurer for McKinley YMCA; he was an elder of First Presbyterian Church and served as trustee for the endowment fund; and

WHEREAS, After retirement, he and his wife moved to Hilton Head; he enjoyed golf, travel, and gardening; he volunteered as a board member of the Cypress Residential Living Community and as treasurer of Volunteers in Medicine, a not-for-profit serving more than 30,000 patients annually on Hilton Head Island; and

WHEREAS, William Fox is survived by his wife, Alice; his sister, Virginia Fox Moeller; his sons and his daughter, Peter B. Fox (Kim), Elizabeth (Robert) McMahon, Hardin Andrew Fox (Muffy), and William Bruce Fox (Jennifer); his 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of William Fox; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of William Fox as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.