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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | ||||||
| 3 | to learn of the death of Theo Jean Kenyon of Peoria, who passed | ||||||
| 4 | away on November 19, 2021; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Theo Kenyon was born in Peoria to Theo | ||||||
| 6 | (Younglove) and Eugene Ahrends on September 5, 1922; she | ||||||
| 7 | graduated from Peoria High School and Northwestern University, | ||||||
| 8 | where she was the first woman editor of the Daily Northwestern | ||||||
| 9 | and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the national honor | ||||||
| 10 | society; she married Leslie H. Kenyon on October 23, 1954; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Theo Kenyon joined the Peoria Journal Star in | ||||||
| 12 | 1944 and worked there until 2010 as a reporter, feature | ||||||
| 13 | writer, and arts critic; her decades-long career at the | ||||||
| 14 | Journal Star included press coverage of presidential | ||||||
| 15 | candidates such as Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and | ||||||
| 16 | Governor Adlai Stevenson II; she also reviewed plays, | ||||||
| 17 | concerts, and art shows; and | ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, Theo Kenyon loved The New Yorker magazine and | ||||||
| 19 | taught classes on it for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute | ||||||
| 20 | at Bradley University; and
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| 21 | WHEREAS, Theo Kenyon was a charter member and twice | ||||||
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| 1 | president of the Peoria Newspaper Guild and walked the picket | ||||||
| 2 | line in its strike to acquire health care coverage for its | ||||||
| 3 | members; she supported the Central Illinois Landmarks | ||||||
| 4 | Foundation, the Heartland Festival Orchestra, the Peoria | ||||||
| 5 | Symphony Orchestra, the Lakeview Museum, and the Peoria Art | ||||||
| 6 | Guild; she was a member of the Universalist Unitarian Church; | ||||||
| 7 | and | ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS, Theo Kenyon was a generous person and gave | ||||||
| 9 | wonderful Christmas parties and gifts to friends; she could be | ||||||
| 10 | counted on to supply treats for any party she attended; she | ||||||
| 11 | worked with her husband on historic preservation and helped to | ||||||
| 12 | save The Grand Army of the Republic Hall; in 2015, she donated | ||||||
| 13 | the funds for the hall's elevator in his honor; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, Theo Kenyon was preceded in death by her husband, | ||||||
| 15 | Leslie; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Theo Kenyon is survived by several cousins; | ||||||
| 17 | therefore, be it
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| 18 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | ||||||
| 19 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | ||||||
| 20 | Theo Jean Kenyon and extend our sincere condolences to her | ||||||
| 21 | family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it | ||||||
| 22 | further
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| 1 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 2 | presented to the family of Theo Kenyon as an expression of our | ||||||
| 3 | deepest sympathy.
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