SR0659 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0659 LRB102 22132 MST 31261 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of C. Dirk McGinnis, who passed away on November 23, 2021; and

WHEREAS, Dirk McGinnis was born in Winnetka to Clifford "Doc" and Francsis (Jackson) McGinnis on May 4, 1936; he graduated from Peoria High School in 1954 and attended Kansas State University; he graduated from Bradley University with a degree in accounting, where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity and cultivated a love of singing; he married Martha E. Pfeffinger at First Federated Church in Peoria on October 24, 1958; and

WHEREAS, Dirk McGinnis worked as an accountant and then as a Peoria realtor with Commercial National Realty; he joined the Downtown Rotary Club and eventually started Dirk McGinnis Realty, where he developed a subdivision in Mossville and Brimfield; he then bought a Century 21 franchise; in the 70s, he turned to acting and singing in Chicago and was soon appearing in commercials for many businesses, including McDonald's, Lipton Tea, and Amway; he was featured in industrial films and had a long run as Andrew McClaren in the Lincolnshire production of Brigadoon; he returned to Peoria and started teaching; he taught computers at Woodruff High School and also taught accounting, bookkeeping, and real estate at Illinois Central College in the evenings; and

WHEREAS, Dirk McGinnis ran for a Peoria County Board seat to represent his neighborhood, Columbia Terrace North, which began a long career in local politics; he was also elected the Peoria County Recorder of Deeds for 12 years and attended state conferences, where he was known as the Singing Recorder; and

WHEREAS, Dirk McGinnis was a long-time member of the Illinois Valley Yacht and Canoe Club; in college, he had been taught to sail and soon got a small sailboat of his own; he sailed various boats on Upper Peoria Lake for decades and taught sailing to adults through the Peoria Park District; being on the water was his greatest joy, and he got his captain's license and skippered charter sailing cruises to the U.S. and British Virgin Islands; he also crewed on a sailboat in The Mac, the dangerous Chicago to Mackinac Race; he helped friends do long sails from the Caribbean to Florida and up the New England coast; he was a great swimmer from an early time and encouraged his children to swim as well; he was well known through the swimming community for his personal and enthusiastic swim meet announcing; and

WHEREAS, Dirk McGinnis and his wife retired for a time on their boat with the intent to circumnavigate the eastern half of the U.S.; they left on the Illinois River and went down the Mississippi River to the Gulf and around to Florida; they stayed several years in the Bahamas, living aboard their sailboat; they eventually retired in North Fort Myers, Florida; and

WHEREAS, Dirk McGinnis was known to sing at many different churches in town; he directed choirs at First Presbyterian Church, First United Congregational Church, and Northminster Presbyterian Church and even named his first boat the Hallelujah; he was often a guest soloist, and he sang at too many weddings to count; he was a life-long member of First Federated Church from his boyhood to participating in the choir into his 70s; he was recruited by his voice teacher to help fill out the canon at Temple Anshai Emeth, singing in Hebrew; he performed there for years on Friday nights, at weddings at many churches on Saturdays, and in church choir on Sundays; he said he was a "Community Christian" when asked about his faith; and

WHEREAS, Dirk McGinnis performed with numerous organizations, most notably the Peoria Symphony Orchestra, the Peoria Civic Opera Company, the Peoria Municipal Band, the Orpheus Club, and the Morton Civic Chorus; he also served on the board of directors for the Central Illinois Memorial Kidney Fund; he was able to be a major fundraiser with his musical revues from 1990 to 1999 and raised over $100,000 for the local Alzheimer's Association; for many holidays, he led the Peoria Courthouse Plaza singalong; he led his McGinnis Family Singers at the Yule Like Peoria celebration for years as they performed at different downtown venues; and

WHEREAS, Dirk McGinnis co-organized a folk group composed of local high school students called The Young Folk, and they primarily performed every year at the Heart of Illinois Fair in the afternoons but were asked to perform at other locales, including an event in Peoria where President-elect Richard Nixon appeared; he received a personal thank you note from Nixon after the rally; and

WHEREAS, Dirk McGinnis had a long running Irish revue with good friends, Denise Adams, Helen Wade, Tom Joyce, and others over the years; they performed sold out evenings at Pekin's Chateau restaurant; with his love of Irish music, beer, and culture, he briefly owned the Limerick Pub on the Illinois River; and

WHEREAS, Dirk McGinnis performed at the Corn Stock Theatre, the second generation of four McGinnises to perform there; he was seen on stage in Brigadoon, 1776, South Pacific, Fanny, Finian's Rainbow, Kismet, and The Man Who Came To Dinner; he music directed Flower Drum Song, Guys and Dolls, Little Shop of Horrors, and Chicago; he served on the board of directors for the Corn Stock Theatre and was seen in a Corn Stock ad campaign; he strongly believed in the importance of community theater and had season tickets there and at the Peoria Symphony Orchestra and the Heartland Festival Orchestra; and

WHEREAS, Dirk McGinnis was asked to sing the National Anthem for many years at the Illinois State Fair, the Peoria Motorcycle Club races, Bradley basketball games, Rivermen Hockey games, Peoria Chiefs games, and many other events; and

WHEREAS, Dirk McGinnis and his wife moved to Lutheran Hillside Village after a serious illness; he enjoyed his years there participating in the many activities, which still included entertaining; he strolled the hallways on Christmas Eve singing carols to the shut-in residents; and

WHEREAS, Dirk McGinnis was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Martha; his parents; his brother, Alex; and his son, Arran McGinnis; and

WHEREAS, Dirk McGinnis is survived by his daughters, Roz (Ron) Helms, Polly (Mike) McNally, and Meghan (Arnel) Tejero; his grandchildren, Keegan McNally, Colleen McNally, Lilianna Tejero, Shannon Helms, Benjamin Helms, Samantha Helms, Bevin Helms, and Meredith Rager; his brother, Michael McGinnis; his sister-in-law, Mary Lou McGinnis; and numerous nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of C. Dirk McGinnis and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Dirk McGinnis as an expression of our deepest sympathy.