Peter Dennys Scully passed away in his sleep on December 16, 2012, at his home in Dwight, Illinois. He was 84 years of age. His death followed several months of declining health and age related illness. Peter was a Dwight area landowner and businessman. He was born in London, England, on June 30, 1928, and passed his early years in England and in France. In 1939, as England moved toward war with Germany, his father, Thomas A. Scully, and mother, Violet Mary Scully, moved to Lincoln, Illinois, with Peter and his older brother, Michael. During the war years, Peter attended school at St. Mark's, in Southborough, Mass., graduating cum laude, and entering Princeton University, where he read English Literature and received a Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, when he graduated in 1950. Drafted into the U.S. Army, he was selected for Army Intelligence training, and posted to active service in Germany. Upon his discharge, he considered a career in journalism, but chose instead to continue the family business of farmland management in central Illinois. Taking over from his father in 1952, he, with his brother Michael, actively managed the family landholdings in Grundy, Livingston, Logan, and Sangamon counties. In 1954, Peter married Olivia Jane Lewis, of London, England, and in the following years had 6 children; David, Christopher, Merida, Richard, Nadine, and Kirsten. He developed the farmland in his care with investments in drainage, and cattle feedlots, and created an 18 hole golf course in Pontiac, Illinois on land considered too poor to farm. In 1966, he bought a farm in southern Spain, and in 1980, expanded his agricultural investments to include a farm in Argentina. He served the Dwight community as Director of the First National Bank of Dwight, as Chairman of the Dwight Public Schools Committee, and as President of the Dwight Public High School Board of Education. He also served as Director of the First National Bank of Lincoln, and as President of the Logan County Park and Trails foundation. Peter opened his home to unwanted and battered children as a temporary foster parent for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. In 1972, Peter was awarded the "Civil Orden de Merito Agricola" by the Ministry of Agriculture for outstanding contributions to Spanish agriculture. He is survived by his wife, Olivia, and by his children, David, Merida, Nadine, and Kirsten. Peter dedicated his life to continuing the tradition of progressive and careful farmland management instilled in him by his father and grandfather. He passed on these values to his surviving children, all of whom are actively involved in the family business. He made substantial contributions to the improvement of his community, in Lincoln and in Dwight, Illinois. All who knew him will agree that he left this world a better place then he found it. A reception was held at the "Country Mansion" in Dwight, on Thursday, Dec. 20, at four o'clock in the afternoon. A memorial service will be scheduled at a later date. Inquires should be directed to the Scully Office in Lincoln, telephone 217-435-1541 Local arrangements under the care of Hager Memorial Home, 201 W. Mazon Ave., Dwight, Il. 60420 815-584-2666.
Published in Chicago Tribune on Dec. 23, 2012
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