John T. Trutter 1920-2007

Former Illinois State Historical Society president John T. Trutter (1986-'87) of Northfield, died on February 2, 2007. He was 86. Mr. Trutter, a lifelong student of history, was born on April 18, 1920, into one of Springfield's most prominent families. His great-grandfather, Philip Mischler Jr., and Abraham Lincoln's children were playmates. A graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he served as student body president his senior year and president of his fraternity, Alpha Sigma Phi.

Upon graduation, Mr. Trutter served for four years in the United States Army, where he attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was appointed chief of personnel services for U.S. forces in China, Burma, and India. After the war he went to work for Illinois Bell Telephone Company in Springfield, retiring in 1985 as senior vice-president for community affairs and public relations.

For 16 years he was the chancellor of the Lincoln Academy, a prestigious society honoring Illinois natives. He was also chairman of the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Greater Chicago, and a director on the boards of the Chicago Lyric Opera, Hull House Association, and the Champaign News-Gazette. In addition, Mr. Trutter served as president and CEO of the Chicago Convention and Visitors Bureau and president of the Chicago Tourism Council. He was director and leader of more than 40 city, state, and national organizations, and served on two Illinois State commissions, three Chicago mayoral transition teams, and three circuit judge committees.

In 1980, Governor James Thompson decorated Mr. Trutter with the Order of Lincoln, the state's highest award, in recognition of his work in the social services. In 1986, he received an honorary doctoral degree from Lincoln College, and in 1999, was awarded the Illinois and Michigan Canal Corridor's Boat Captain's Award for service as director and chairman of the Canal Corridor Association.

Mr. Trutter was a founder and the first president of the Sangamon County Historical Society, ad . He married Edith English Weque Woods, granddaughter of Cora English Tanner (grandniece of Cora English Tanner, wife of Governor John Riley Tanner) of Springfield. Together in 1977 they wrote The Governor Takes a Bride: The Celebrated Marriage of Cora English and John R. Tanner, Governor of Illinois (Illinois State Historical Society and SIU-Press). The couple moved to Evanston, where they lived for 49 years and raised two children, Edith English Trutter Hauph of Northfield, and Jonathan Trutter of Lake Forest. Mrs. Trutter preceded her husband in death.

Mr. Trutter's life was chronicled in John Thomas Trutter: A Profile of Legacy and Leadership, by Janice A. Petterchak (Legacy Press, 1997), which recounts his accomplishments for the Illinois State Historical Society: "As president of the Illinois State Historical Society, John led the Second Century Campaign for the State Historical Library, with fundraising events that included the first public statewide tour of treasured Lincoln artifacts from the Historical Library collection. For several years he served as general chairman of the Historical Society's annual Centennial Business Program."

A former director of the Abraham Lincoln Association, Mr. Trutter also chaired the Council for Illinois History, "a statewide blue-ribbon group with the mission of preserving and perpetuating the Illinois heritage."

Mr. Trutter was buried in Springfield's Oak Ridge Cemetery. He will be missed.

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