Illinois

Ward Swift Just (September 5, 1935 – December 19, 2019) was an American writer. He was a war correspondent and the author of 19 novels and numerous short stories.

Wade Ray (April 13, 1913 in Evansville, Indiana – November 11, 1998 in Sparta, IL) was an American Western Swing fiddler and vocalist. His bands, the Wade Ray Five, Wade Ray And His Ozark Mountain Boys, etc., included musicians such as Kenneth Carllile and Curly Chalker. He retired to Sparta, Illinois in 1979 where he died in 1998.

Joe Dowell (January 23, 1940 – February 4, 2016) was an American pop singer.

Joseph C. Winkler (March 9, 1922 – March 21, 2001) was an American football center who played one season with the Cleveland Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Purdue University and attended Catholic Central High School in Hammond, Indiana.

Kenje Ogata (Japanese: 緒方 健二, June 1, 1919 – January 18, 2012) was an American soldier and one of five documented people of Japanese descent to serve in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II.

Anthony DeSantis, KStJ (January 5, 1914 - June 6, 2007) was an American entrepreneur and theater owner in Chicago, Illinois. He is most well known for the foundation of the area's Drury Lane theatres. During DeSantis' lifetime, his empire included six separate theaters.

Anna L. "Pee Wee" Meyer (later Petrovic; born November 17, 1928) is a former female shortstop who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the 1944 season. Born in Aurora, Indiana, she was one of the youngest players to sign a contract with the league at age 15.

William R. Frink (31 July 1926 – 1 July 2005) was an American former news presenter. He served as the sportscaster for Chicago's WLS-TV (an ABC-affiliate).

Dan Wakefield (born May 21, 1932) is an American novelist, journalist and screenwriter.His best-selling novels, Going All the Way (1970) and Starting Over (1973), were made into feature films.
He wrote the screenplay for Going All the Way, which starred Ben Affleck, Rachel Weisz and Rose McGowan.He created the NBC prime time television series James at 15 (1977–78) and was story editor of the series (1977).
His other notable works include Island in the City: The World of Spanish Harlem (1959), a pioneering journalistic account of a Puerto Rican neighborhood in New York, and the memoir New York in the Fifties (2001), produced as a documentary film by Betsy Blankenbaker. His memoir, Returning: A Spiritual Journey (1988), was called by Bill Moyers "one of the most important memoirs of the spirit I have ever read". He edited and wrote the Introduction to Kurt Vonnegut Letters (2012). Wakefield received The Bernard DeVoto Fellowship at The Bread Loaf Writer Conference in 1958, a Nieman Fellowship in Journalism (1963–64) and a Rockefeller Grant in Writing, 1968.
Wakefield retired as writer in residence at Florida International University (1995–2009), where he received The Faculty Award for Mentorship. He moved back to his home town of Indianapolis in 2011.

Tony Holguin (October 18, 1926 – May 14, 2009) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour.
Holguin learned the game of golf while growing up in San Antonio, Texas during the Great Depression. His family, which was of Mexican descent, had no money and could not afford an automobile. He spent much time at home, practicing his putting.
Holguin served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He won the San Antonio City Championship in 1946 and 1947. He turned professional in 1948.Holguin won the Mexican Open in 1949 and 1950. His best finish in a major championship was T17 at PGA Championship in 1957. The biggest win of his career came in 1953 at the Texas Open. In 1957, Holguin tied Arnold Palmer for third place in the Texas Open. His majors resume consists of three Masters, six U.S. Opens and eight PGA Championships.
At the opening round of the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am in January 1954, Holguin set the course record of 63 at the Monterey Peninsula Country Club, now known as its Dunes Course.Like most professional golfers of his generation, Holguin earned a living primarily as a club professional. He became club pro at Midlothian (Illinois) Country Club in 1952. He also worked at Gleneagles Country Club in Lemont, Illinois and Balmoral Woods Country Club in Crete, Illinois. In 2007, he was inducted into the Illinois Section PGA Hall of Fame.Holguin was the spokesman for Fairwinds, a failed development that included a Holiday Inn and future golf course. He also was to be the teaching professional at Fairwinds. A golf course was built after the development failed, which became Balmoral Woods CC.