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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois
3 learned with regret of the death of the Reverend Paul M.
4 Johannaber of Saint Charles on Tuesday, November 29, 2005; and
 
5     WHEREAS, He was born February 17, 1919, in Marthasville,
6 Missouri, to Robert and Dora (Meier) Johannaber; he was a
7 graduate of Stockton High School and attended the College of
8 the Pacific, both in California; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Reverend Johannaber served his country as a member
10 of the U.S. Army during World War II; his Christian life and
11 character were both shaped and expressed during his years in
12 military service; and
 
13     WHEREAS, He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech from
14 Wheaton College in 1949 and a Master of Divinity degree in
15 1971; during his graduate school years, he taught speech and
16 coached junior varsity debate; and
 
17     WHEREAS, He was a member of the honorary speech fraternity,
18 Pi Kappa Delta, and helped found the Seminary Club, serving as
19 its president for one year; he was a student pastor of Hillside
20 Baptist Church in Aurora from 1949 to 1954, when he became
21 superintendent of Wayside Cross Rescue Mission; he was ordained
22 to the gospel ministry in Claim Baptist Church on December 1,
23 1952; and
 
24     WHEREAS, During his thirty years at Wayside Cross, he was
25 known for changing the lives of addicts and reaching out to the
26 needy; under his leadership, the mission launched a women's
27 program, began Aurora's first summer school for children of
28 Spanish-speaking migrant works, and opened summer camps for
29 children, a halfway house for parolees, an emergency shelter
30 for homeless women and children, work rehabilitation for

 

 

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1 recovering alcoholics, and held daily Bible classes and
2 counseling services at Kane County jail; the first
3 Spanish-speaking church in Aurora, Life Spring Ministries, and
4 the Riverwoods Christian Center were all outgrowths of his work
5 at Wayside Cross; and
 
6     WHEREAS, He was a member of the Rotary Club of Aurora, the
7 Wheaton College Alumni Association, the Aurora Area Clergy
8 Association, the Aurora Prayer Breakfast Group, the
9 International Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, and many
10 others; he served several of those organizations as president
11 or chairman; he was honored for service to God and country by
12 the Kiwanis Club, the Cosmopolitan Club, the Illinois Migrant
13 Council, and others; he was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the
14 Rotary Foundation of Rotary International; and
 
15     WHEREAS, His favorite recreation activities included
16 fishing, water-skiing, and travel, and family reunions were a
17 major interest for him; and
 
18     WHEREAS, The passing of Reverend Johannaber has been deeply
19 felt by many, especially his wife, Katherine (Deckman), whom he
20 met in 1940 at a Methodist youth camp in Forest Home,
21 California; his daughter, Lois Ruth (Daniel Jon) Diercks; his
22 grandchildren, Jonathan Paul (Keli) Diercks, Belinda Kay
23 (Joel) Wordlaw, David Jeremy Diercks, and Timothy James (LeAnn)
24 Diercks; and his great-grandchildren, Davis Jonathan Diercks,
25 Caris Elizabeth Diercks, Jada Kay Wordlaw, Zoe Joelle Wordlaw,
26 Kalyn Olivia Diercks, and Macy Elena Diercks; he was preceded
27 in death by his parents; his brother, Raymond; his sister, Ruth
28 (Lee) Person; and many aunts, uncles and cousins; therefore, be
29 it
 
30     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL
31 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
32 the Reverend Paul M. Johannaber, and we extend our sincere

 

 

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1 condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved
2 him; and be it further
 
3     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
4 presented to his family as an expression of our deepest
5 sympathy.