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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the
3 State of Illinois learned with deep regret of the death of
4 their colleague, State Representative David Wirsing of
5 Sycamore, on Sunday, November 16, 2003; and
 
6     WHEREAS, David Arnold Wirsing was born on August 5, 1937 to
7 Wayne and Gladys (Hegberg) Wirsing; he was raised on the family
8 farm near Sycamore and graduated from Sycamore High School; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Representative Wirsing served in the U.S. Army
10 both on active duty and in the reserves, from 1957 to 1964; he
11 married Nancy Hardesty on March 5, 1960; in 1963, he took over
12 ownership and operation of the Wirsing Pork Finishing Farm; and
 
13     WHEREAS, Representative Wirsing was very active in
14 promoting pork production and served as Vice-President of the
15 Illinois Pork Producers Association in 1982 and President in
16 1984; in 1988, he became Chairman of the Illinois Pork PAC, a
17 post he held until 1992; he was elected to the Sycamore School
18 Board in 1986; and
 
19     WHEREAS, Representative Wirsing was in his sixth term
20 representing the 70th Legislative District; he was active in
21 working on behalf of Northern Illinois University and the
22 people of DeKalb and Sycamore; he was the minority spokesman
23 for the Higher Education Committee and a member of the House
24 Elementary and Secondary Appropriations Committee; he also
25 served on the House Executive and Labor Committees; and
 
26     WHEREAS, When entering the House Floor from the Republican
27 side, Representative Wirsing was the first face in view, and he
28 always had a smile; staff and other members frequently stopped
29 by his desk on the Floor to visit and partake of his
30 ever-present basket of orange slices; he was known as

 

 

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1 everybody's "grandpa", yet he had a youthful exuberance and a
2 wry sense of humor; he distinguished himself as a fair-minded,
3 effective, and respected legislator; and
 
4     WHEREAS, Representative Wirsing was a member of
5 Congressman Dennis Hastert's Agricultural Advisory Committee,
6 the organizer and Chairman of the Sycamore Youth Council on
7 Street Gang Issues, a member of the Northern FS Board of
8 Directors, a past 4-H leader, a member of the DeKalb County
9 Farm Bureau, a member of the University of Illinois China Hog
10 Research Committee, a member of the Western Illinois University
11 Swine Research Committee, a member of the Legislative
12 Information Advisory Committee for the Illinois Association of
13 School Boards, the Secretary of the Coon Creek Drainage
14 District Board, and the past President of the DeKalb
15 Toastmasters Club; he was a member of Sycamore United Methodist
16 Church, a founding member of the Sycamore Education Foundation,
17 a member of Charter Grove Grange, and a former board member of
18 the Kane County Farm Bureau; and
 
19     WHEREAS, Representative Wirsing was the recipient of the
20 Friend of Agriculture award given by the Illinois Agriculture
21 Association and the Guardian of Small Business award given by
22 the Illinois Federation of Independent Businessmen; he
23 received recognition from the Illinois Bankers Association in
24 2002, and was given the Friend of the Child award from the
25 Children's Learning Center in DeKalb in 2000 and 2001; he
26 received the Distinguished Service Award from the Northern
27 Illinois University Alumni Association in 2001, and in 2000, he
28 was the recipient of the Dedicated Service Award from Safe
29 Passage, a domestic violence shelter for women and children;
30 and
 
31     WHEREAS, Representative Wirsing was honored by the City of
32 Sycamore in appreciation of his continuing generous support in
33 2001, by 4-H for his support of the 4-H Blue Ribbon Sale, and

 

 

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1 in 2003 by Waubonsee Community College as a distinguished
2 contributor; he received the Day Care Action Council of
3 Illinois' Action for Illinois Children award in 2001; he was
4 recognized by the Ogle County Senior Services, Inc. in June of
5 1999 for his outstanding service and dedication to older
6 Americans and was given a Main Street DeKalb Certificate of
7 Appreciation in 2003; and
 
8     WHEREAS, The passing of Representative Wirsing has been
9 most deeply felt by those who supported him throughout both his
10 public and private career, especially his wife, Nancy; his
11 sons, Mark (wife Elizabeth) and Steven; his daughters, Angela
12 Mecklenburg (husband Tom) and Susan Rankin (husband Scot); his
13 grandchildren, Clint, Jasmine, Karly, and Melina Mecklenburg,
14 Emma and Andrew Rankin, Scott, Jeff, and Rachel Wirsing, and
15 Wesley and Justin Parker; his mother, Gladys Wirsing; his
16 brother Ron (wife Marcia); his sisters, Carol Larson (husband
17 Ray) and Kay Schrader (husband Barry); his sister-in-law,
18 Lucille Wirsing; and his several nieces and nephews; therefore,
19 be it
 
20     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
21 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
22 mourn the passing of State Representative David Wirsing, a
23 progressive farm leader who served the citizens of the 70th
24 Legislative District with honor and distinction; and be it
25 further
 
26     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
27 presented to the family of Representative David Wirsing as an
28 expression of our deepest condolences during their time of
29 bereavement.