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1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3 to learn of the death of John Alan Woodruff, who passed away on
4 September 10, 2023; and
5 WHEREAS, John Woodruff was born in Carlinville to William
6 Verness and Mary (Parker) Woodruff on February 1, 1939; he
7 grew up in Carlinville, where he enjoyed the outdoors; he was a
8 High School All-American in football, threw the discus and
9 shot put, and participated in band and chorus activities; he
10 played football for one year at the University of Illinois in
11 Urbana-Champaign and graduated as a field biology major from
12 Southern Illinois University at Alton in 1963; he married
13 Judith Colleen VanPelt on November 9, 1963; and
14 WHEREAS, John Woodruff started his career as a textbook
15 editor/writer for a high school publishing company; he later
16 became a mainframe computer specialist and, after years of
17 programming and system design, went into management and
18 consulting; he worked in both the public and private sectors
19 for over 40 years; and
20 WHEREAS, John Woodruff oversaw many of the early efforts
21 to consolidate computers while working for the State of
22 Illinois, including the establishment of the data processing
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1 department of the new Department of Alcoholism and Substance
2 Abuse and development of several PC-based systems for the
3 Illinois State Board of Education; in addition, he was an
4 assistant professor in the business school at Sangamon State
5 University (now UIS) and an adjunct professor at Lincoln Land
6 Community College, specializing in system development and
7 business management; and
8 WHEREAS, John Woodruff was actively involved in the
9 Springfield theater scene; he was on stage at Springfield's
10 Muni 15 times in 14 years; he played Amos Hart in Springfield's
11 original production of Chicago and was known as Mr.
12 Cellophane; after he and Judy built their dream log home in
13 rural New Berlin in 1993, he concentrated more on Theater in
14 the Park and venues in Jacksonville; ultimately, he got into
15 directing local productions, including Carousel, Seven Brides
16 for Seven Brothers, and others; he restaged the epic poem John
17 Brown's Body for the modern theater and wrote and directed
18 three successful plays, Civil War Journeys, Drummer Girl, and
19 Baltimore Plot; he was a member of a local storytellers group,
20 loved to write short, two-person plays, and was fascinated by
21 history and family ancestry; and
22 WHEREAS, John Woodruff was an avid hunter and fisherman, a
23 competitive bass fisherman, and a proud member of Ducks
24 Unlimited, the NRA, and the Capitol City Men's Chorus; he
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1 enjoyed golfing and had great respect for the environment and
2 the conservation of natural resources; and
3 WHEREAS, John Woodruff is survived by his wife, Judith;
4 his son, Jim Woodruff; his daughter, Beth (Bob) Paton; and his
5 grandchildren, Tim Paton, Andy (Lydia) Paton, Bailey Woodruff,
6 Parker Woodruff, and Riley Woodruff; therefore, be it
7 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL
8 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
9 John Alan Woodruff and extend our sincere condolences to his
10 family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
11 further
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