Roy Owen West a Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

an and graduate of DePauw University

DePauw University

DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, USA, is a private, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the Great Lakes Colleges Association...

 in 1890, was U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1928 until 1929, serving under Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge

John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...

.

West was born 1868 in Georgetown, Illinois

Georgetown, Illinois

Georgetown is a city in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the 'Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area'. The population was 3,628 at the 2000 census, and 3,412 as of an estimate in 2009.-History:...

. He graduated from De Pauw University and was admitted to the Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 bar in 1890. He served as assistant attorney for Cook County

Cook County

- Counties :*Cook County, Georgia, US*Cook County, Illinois*Cook County, Minnesota, US*Cook County, New South Wales, Australia*Cook County, New Zealand, one of the former counties of New Zealand on the North Island...

 and then as city attorney for Chicago. In 1898, he was elected to the Chicago Board of Review. While serving in these posts, he formed a close political alliance with future Illinois Governor Charles S. Deneen

Charles S. Deneen

Charles Samuel Deneen was the 23rd Governor of Illinois, serving from 1905 to 1913, and was the first to serve two terms. He served as a U.S. Senator from Illinois, 1925–1931. Deneen also served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives in 1892...

. West served as secretary to the G.O.P National Committee from 1924 to 1928.

After his cabinet service, West returned to Illinois. He was a member of the National Methodist Board of Education from 1936 to 1940. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, West worked as a federal hearing officer for conscientious objector

Conscientious objector

A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....

 cases.

He died November 29, 1958, and is buried in Rosehill Cemetery

Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago

Rosehill Cemetery is a Victorian era cemetery on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, USA, and at , is the largest cemetery in the City of Chicago. The name "Rosehill" resulted from a City Clerk's error – the area was previously called "Roe's Hill", named for nearby farmer Hiram Roe...

in Chicago.

The library at DePauw University is named for Mr. West.