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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Dorothy
4 Louise Bauer, who passed away on November 20, 2008; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Dorothy Bauer was born in Benton on September 14,
6 1932; her parents were Zelphia and Vern Jones; she graduated
7 from Benton High School with the Class of 1950; against the
8 wishes of her father, she attended the University of Illinois,
9 graduating in 1954 with a Bachelor of Arts from the College of
10 Liberal Arts and Sciences; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Dorothy Bauer had a long and distinguished career
12 in teaching; her teaching career began in 1954 in Baltimore,
13 Maryland; however, she is most remembered for her 27-plus years
14 as a middle school English, grammar, and reading instructor for
15 the Benton Consolidated School District 47; throughout her
16 career in Benton, she taught over 4,000 students and was
17 greatly lauded for her wit and passion for teaching; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Dorothy Bauer was instrumental in developing
19 several innovative programs during her teaching career,
20 including an Independent Study Program for gifted students and
21 a Team Operational Planning Program; she served as coach of the
22 eighth-grade Scholar Bowl Team and sponsored the annual

 

 

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1 Spelling Contest for the Middle School; a study room was
2 dedicated in her honor at the Benton Public Library in
3 recognition of the time she and her students spent at the
4 library and her love of reading; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Dorothy Bauer demonstrated commitment to her
6 fellow teachers; she served as President of the Benton Teachers
7 Association during the early 1970s and as President of the
8 Benton Federation of Teachers AFL-CIO from 1981 to 1982; during
9 her tenure, the District 47 teachers were always among the best
10 compensated in Southern Illinois, a great source of pride for
11 her and a testament to her negotiating skill; she also served
12 on the Southern Illinois Reading Council, the Illinois Council
13 of English Teachers, the National Association of Middle
14 Schools, and the International Reading Association; prior to
15 her retirement from teaching in 1990, she served as District
16 Representative for the Association of Illinois Middle Schools;
17 and
 
18     WHEREAS, Dorothy Bauer showed her love for her hometown
19 through her service at the First Baptist Church, the Benton
20 Community Park District, and the Benton Civic Center; always
21 willing to challenge the status quo, she became one of the
22 first two women to serve on the Board of Deacons of the First
23 Baptist Church of Benton in 1978; she also served as Sunday
24 School Superintendent, Vacation Bible School Director, Sunday

 

 

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1 School Teacher, and Church Clerk; and
 
2     WHEREAS, Dorothy Bauer was a leader in the formation of the
3 Benton Community Park District, serving on the Park District
4 Board as Vice President from its inception in 1974 through the
5 mid-1980s and then again from 1990 until 1996; her passion for
6 the park has created a playground that children from throughout
7 Southern Illinois have visited and enjoyed; and
 
8     WHEREAS, In April of 1990, Dorothy Bauer was appointed
9 Executive Director of the newly formed Benton Civic Center
10 Authority; her investment of time and talent in her community
11 was formally recognized in November of 1990, when she was named
12 "Citizen of the Year" by the Benton Area Chamber of Commerce;
13 and
 
14     WHEREAS, Dorothy Bauer first met her husband-to-be, David,
15 when they were attending the third grade at Webster Grade
16 School; they dated on and off throughout high school before
17 both of them headed north to attend school at the University of
18 Illinois; they were married on June 12, 1954, the week before
19 receiving their undergraduate degrees; later, in 1954, she went
20 with Lt. David Bauer to Germany, where they enjoyed three
21 eventful years traveling the continent, surviving the October
22 Revolution and bearing their first child, Brian; after their
23 tour in the military, they settled in St. Louis in 1958, where

 

 

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1 David began his career in banking and they had their second
2 child, Paula; in the fall of 1961, they seized on the
3 opportunity to move back to Benton, where their third child,
4 Valerie, was born; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Dorothy Bauer was preceded in death by her parents
6 and her brother, Elmer; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Dorothy Bauer is survived by her husband; her son,
8 Brian Bauer (wife, Patricia); her daughters, Paula Bauer
9 (partner, Faye Licata) and Valerie Sansing (husband, John
10 Sansing); her grandchildren, Douglas, Gregory, Kyle, and
11 Elizabeth (Brian and Pat), Courtney and Cameron (Paula and
12 Faye), Doug and wife, Aubrey, and Jenna (Valerie and John); and
13 her brother, Harold Jones (wife, Carol); therefore, be it
 
14     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
15 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
16 mourn, along with her family and friends, the passing of
17 Dorothy Louise Bauer; and be it further
 
18     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
19 presented to the family of Dorothy Bauer as an expression of
20 our sympathy.