James E. Simon ’61

CHAMPAIGN – James E. Simon 73, of Champaign passed away Wednesday (Nov. 30, 2011) at his home in Champaign.

He was born Oct. 16, 1938, in Carbondale to Ernest and Mary Curd Simon. He married Rebecca Jeffries on Sept. 5, 1964 in Carbondale and she survives. He was preceded in death by one brother and his parents.

He was a professor of architecture at the University of Illinois for 32 years, retiring in 1998. Prior to coming to the University of Illinois he was employed at C.F. Murphy Architectural in Chicago.

He belonged to the A.T.O. fraternity, was a master gardener and loved to travel the western United States.

Services for Professor Simon will be private and memorial contributions should be directed to the James E. Simon Trust with the University of Illinois Foundation or to the Master Gardener Program with the University of Illinois Extension Service.

Arthur C. Litchfield ’50

litchfieldArthur Clinton Litchfield, 85, passed away on November 27, 2011 at the Tores Home after a long illness. In 1943, at the age of 17, Arthur enlisted in the US Navy where he served for 25 months. He then completed his education at the University of Illinois, graduating with a degree in Chemical Engineering in 1950. He worked for many years in Illinois and in New York for Fleischman’s Yeast where he was a pioneer in the development, packaging and marketing of dry yeast to the public. He later worked in a similar capacity for Anheuser Busch Inc in St. Louis where he became a Vice President in 1983. Throughout his career Arthur traveled to many countries advising at yeast plants around the world.

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Claude Van Anderson ’50

Claude Van Anderson ’50 passed away on November 11, 2011. He was a graduate of Sullivan High School, where he played football, basketball, and golf; and the University of Illinois, where he had significant success in basketball as a four-year letterman and played in a NCAA Championship game. He served in the U.S. Army, playing on the U.S. Army basketball team to entertain the troops. After college and his army career, Van continued to play basketball, leading the Court Street United Methodist team to a city championship. He received a congressional appointment to West Point, unfortunately he was disqualified due to being colorblind. Over the years this was often apparent in his choice of clothing colors. After graduating from the University of Illinois, Van was offered a professional basketball contract with the Sheboygan Redskins, which he turned down in favor of beginning his career and raising his young family. Van began his career at Illinois National Bank, which became Amcore Bank, where he rose to the position of Senior Vice-President while providing significant leadership to the community.

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