SR1209 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1209 LRB102 29062 LAW 40971 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of G. Cullom Davis of Springfield, who passed away on September 9, 2022; and

WHEREAS, Cullom Davis was born to George and Elizabeth (Scripps) Davis in Aurora on May 2, 1935; he was raised in Peoria; he completed high school at the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey; he earned his degree in History from Princeton University in 1957, where he was a member of the Tiger Inn; he taught History at the Punahou School in Hawaii before returning to study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he earned his Ph.D. in American History in 1968; he married Ann Chapman on May 27, 1976; and

WHEREAS, Cullom Davis joined the History Department at Indiana University in Bloomington, where he taught for five years before being recruited in 1969 to be among the founding faculty of Sangamon State University (SSU), which became the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS); he was a creative, enthusiastic educator devoted to student learning and developing SSU and its mission as a multidisciplinary public affairs institution; he brought the discipline of Oral History to the university, creating and leading its Oral History Office; he was an ardent supporter of the arts and Prairie Stars soccer; he held several administrative leadership roles during his 39 years of service at SSU/UIS; and

WHEREAS, Cullom Davis authored several seminal oral history texts, including Oral History: From Tape to Type in 1977; he also designed and promoted the Public History concentration of the master's degree in History; in service to his profession, he served on boards and presided over many state and national professional organizations; he was presented countless awards for his advocacy, innovation, and expertise in history; and

WHEREAS, Cullom Davis became the director of the Lincoln Legal Papers in 1981, a project focused on discovering, interpreting, indexing, and digitizing all known legal works of Abraham Lincoln that became the most comprehensive chronicling of Lincoln's legal career; he served in that capacity until his retirement in 2008; and

WHEREAS, Cullom Davis' many years in Springfield were marked by civic interests, including supporting Planned Parenthood, desegregating Springfield Public Schools, expanding the Lincoln Memorial Gardens, educating the public on the Springfield Race Riot of 1908, and providing advisory work in the creation of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library; and

WHEREAS, Cullom Davis served on the board of directors of Springfield Marine Bank until its purchase by Banc One and as a trustee of the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund; he also was active in politics, serving as an alternate delegate of Illinois at the Democratic Party Presidential Convention in Miami in 1972; and

WHEREAS, Cullom Davis was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Mary Scripps Swayngim; and

WHEREAS, Cullom Davis is survived by his wife, Ann (Chapman) Davis; his children, Cathy Davis Lunday, Lesa Davis, Cully Davis, John Giordano, and Mark Giordano; and his eight grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of G. Cullom Davis 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 Cullom Davis as an expression of our deepest sympathy.