H. Ross Workman, 96, of Glenview, IL, passed away May 20, 2016. Mr. Workman was a former Allstate Insurance Vice-President, major benefactor of the University of Illinois, and distinguished veteran of World War II.

Mr. Workman was born on a farm in Corinth, ND on June 29, 1919 to Harry and Selma (Ellis) Workman. The family moved in 1923 to Harmony, MN, where he spent his youth. After graduating from Harmony High School and completing one year at the University of Minnesota, he worked at the Harmony News Office, a weekly newspaper in his hometown. During this time, he met Helen Smith, a teacher in Harmony, and they married on February 7, 1942.

Mr. Workman was always interested in aviation, so when his newspaper received an item asking for men to join the Army Air Corps and attend aircraft maintenance school at Chanute Field in Rantoul, IL, he enlisted on June 20, 1940. He graduated and was retained to teach there. In 1942, he was selected to attend Officer Candidate School in Miami, FL, where he received his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. In March, 1943, Mr. Workman went to the South Pacific combat theater with the 390th, a B-25 squadron, as Engineering Officer. He spent two and one half years there starting on Guadalcanal and following General MacArthur to New Guinea and the Philippines taking part in nine campaigns and receiving eight battle stars. He later continued in the reserves in the Air Force Judge Advocate General's Department and retired in 1964 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

After the war, Mr. Workman completed college at the University of Illinois, receiving his BS in Commerce in 1947 and his Juris Doctorate in Law in 1949. He was admitted to the Bar of the Illinois Supreme Court in 1950 and the Court of Military Appeals and United States Supreme Court in 1953. 

Mr. Workman began his career with the former Standard Oil Company (Indiana) as assistant to the Sales Vice-President. In 1955, he joined Allstate Insurance, where he was employed for 27 years, first as National Real Estate Director with the responsibility of purchasing, rezoning, and preparing sites for construction of company-owned regional office buildings. In 1970, he was promoted to Vice-President of Real Estate and Construction, where he was responsible for all company real estate worldwide with a portfolio of over one half billion dollars. He retired in December, 1982 and spent the next seven years as a real estate consultant. 

Mr. Workman and his wife, Helen, have been major benefactors to the University of Illinois College of Law and to the university's Spurlock Museum. For the College of Law, they established the H. Ross and Helen Workman Chair in Law and Business, the Workman Research Endowment Fund, and dedicated funds to future capital improvements at the college. For the Spurlock Museum, the Workmans funded the Workman Gallery of Asian Cultures, the Workman Gallery of Ancient Mediterranean Cultures, and provided for the construction of Office and Storage facilities at the museum. 

Mr. Workman is survived by his two sisters, Doris Sampson and Betty Roa of Fremont, CA; his niece, Ann Mraz of Harmony, MN and Ft. Lauderdale, FL; his grand nephew, Brad Thacher (Ann) of Sterling Heights, MI; his grand niece, Debbie Roa of Fremont, CA; and many other family members. He is preceded in death by his wife of 72 years, Helen Smith Workman; as well as his brother, Roger Workman; sister, Louise Yeoman; and brothers-in-law Clinton Jones, Clarence Roa, and Lawrence Sampson. Other survivors include his wife's cousins: Barbara Meyer (Karl) of Raleigh, NC, Karen Bennett of Lake Zurich, IL, G. Kirk Bennett, Jr. (Marti) of Northfield, IL, and George Bennett (Catherine) of Chicago, IL; as well as caregivers Patricia Flanary and Kimberly Foley.

Services have been held.