SR1212LRB102 28997 LAW 40897 r

1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3to learn of the deaths of Lee and JoAnne Cabutti of Champaign,
4who passed away on September 8 and September 11, 2022,
5respectively; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Lee Cabutti was born to John and Maria Cabutti in
7Stiritz on April 5, 1925; he graduated from Johnston City High
8School in 1944; he attended Southern Illinois University
9Carbondale (SIU) from 1944 to 1948, where he played on the
10N.A.I.A. fourth place basketball team in 1944-1945, the
11N.A.I.A. National Champions basketball team in 1946-1947, and
12the Corn Bowl championship football team in 1947; he was named
13the most valuable football player at SIU in 1946; he served as
14president of the senior class and president of the Sphinx
15Club; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Lee Cabutti taught and coached in Herrin from
171948 to 1955, where he was the head football, basketball, and
18track coach; his teams won the first conference championships
19in football and basketball in school history in 1954-1955; he
20then taught and coached in Champaign from 1956 to 1986,
21serving as assistant football coach for 10 years, athletic
22director for 25 years, and head basketball coach for 30 years;
23his basketball team won third place in the state tournament in

 

 

SR1212- 2 -LRB102 28997 LAW 40897 r

11969, and his teams played in the Sweet 16 three times;
2overall, his teams won 538 basketball games, making him the
3winningest coach in school history; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Lee Cabutti spent 40 summers at the National
5Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan, where he served as the
6director of the High School Boys Division for the last 30; he
7also served on the board of the Developmental Services Center
8in Champaign for six years; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Lee Cabutti was inducted into the Athletic
10Director's Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Basketball Hall of Fame
11in 1974; he was the recipient of the Buzzy O'Connor Award by
12the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association in 1987; he became
13the namesake of the athletic field near the High School Boys
14Division of the National Music Camp in 2002 and the basketball
15court at Champaign Central High School in 2005; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Lee Cabutti spent his retirement years working on
17five acres of land west of Champaign, selling firewood,
18apples, peaches, raspberries, blackberries, and tomatoes; he
19also organized a travel group that has taken trips all over the
20world and now consists of over 150 people; and
 
21    WHEREAS, JoAnne Cabutti was born to Carl and Meda Barlow
22in Carbondale on April 9, 1930; she graduated from Herrin

 

 

SR1212- 3 -LRB102 28997 LAW 40897 r

1Township High School, earning her high school diploma in only
2three years; she graduated from St. Luke's Hospital School of
3Nursing in St. Louis, Missouri in 1951; and
 
4    WHEREAS, JoAnne Cabutti worked as an airline stewardess
5for a brief time before returning to Herrin, becoming a staff
6nurse at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Marion; she
7then worked as a staff nurse at Provena Covenant Medical
8Center from 1957 until she retired in 1992, at which time she
9opened the first recovery room in what was then known as Mercy
10Hospital; she was named Employee of the Year in 1970; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Following her retirement, JoAnne Cabutti became a
12life member of the Provena Covenant Auxiliary, which later
13became known as Volunteer Services; during her time in the
14organization, she created the JoAnne Cabutti Mitten Tree
15project and received a commendation for volunteering over
1622,500 hours at Provena; she also enjoyed growing beautiful
17roses and sharing them with others, winning Best of Show in a
18local rose competition; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Lee and JoAnne Cabutti were married in Herrin on
20October 1, 1955; they moved to Champaign in 1957, where they
21had recently celebrated 67 years of marriage; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Lee and JoAnne Cabutti were members of the Holy

 

 

SR1212- 4 -LRB102 28997 LAW 40897 r

1Cross Catholic Church in Champaign, where they both served as
2eucharistic ministers; they received the Keys to the City of
3Champaign for their volunteerism and service to the community
4on March 18, 2015; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Lee and JoAnne Cabutti were preceded in death by
6their son, Mike Cabutti; Lee's sisters, Rose Brock and Lena
7Marshall; Lee's cousin, Eddie Dotta; and Lee's brother-in-law,
8Clem Brock; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Lee and JoAnne Cabutti are survived by their son,
10Mark Cabutti; their daughter-in-law, Gay White Cabutti; their
11granddaughters, Elise Cabutti and Emma Cabutti Barton
12(Austin); and Lee's cousin, Magdeline Dotta; therefore, be it
 
13    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
14ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
15Lee and JoAnne Cabutti and extend our sincere condolences to
16their family, friends, and all who knew and loved them; and be
17it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
19presented to the family of Lee and JoAnne Cabutti as an
20expression of our deepest sympathy.