SR0108 LRB095 11507 KXB 32729 r

1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3 learn of the death of Lester H. Miller of Hinsdale, who passed
4 away on February 20, 2007; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Lester Miller was born February 3, 1924 in
6 Belleville; he was a standout athlete at Belleville Township
7 High School, winning eight varsity letters in football,
8 basketball, and baseball; he turned down professional offers
9 after high school to attend the University of Illinois in
10 Urbana; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Lester Miller enlisted in the United States Army
12 during World War II; he was stationed in Hawaii at the end of
13 the war; after the war he returned to the University of
14 Illinois, earned his degree, and played outfield on the
15 University baseball team, winning Big Ten championships in 1947
16 and 1948; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Mr. Miller served as the University of
18 Illinois-Navy Pier's first head baseball coach in 1949; he
19 built the foundation for the current program while he served as
20 coach; he is the team's all-time winningest coach with 509
21 career victories; and
 

 

 

SR0108 - 2 - LRB095 11507 KXB 32729 r

1     WHEREAS, During his time as a coach, his teams amassed 10
2 Chicagoland College Baseball League Championships and six CCBL
3 tournament titles; and
 
4     WHEREAS, He was the founder of the UIC Athletic Alumni
5 Club, serving as the president of the organization for more
6 than 20 years; he was elected to the UIC Athletics Hall of Fame
7 in 1991, and in 1999 the baseball field at the University of
8 Illinois-Chicago was renamed Les Miller Field; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Lester Miller was inducted into the Navy Pier Hall
10 of Fame in February 2006; he received the American Association
11 of Baseball Coaches Lefty Gomez Award in 1974 for his
12 outstanding contributions and distinguished service to college
13 baseball; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Lester Miller formed camps and clinics for coaches
15 and umpires; he organized and conducted the University of
16 Illinois-Chicago Baseball Coaching and Umpiring Clinics in
17 1951, recognized as the first baseball clinic for coaches and
18 umpires in the country; and
 
19     WHEREAS, Lester H. Miller is survived by his wife of 60
20 years, Phyllis, nee Kieskalt; his children, Martha (Henry)
21 Sandifer, Judy (Larry) Wedryk, Ellen (Larry) Buege, Gail (Paul)
22 Smith, Nancy (Bob) Heidenreich, Mike (MaryAnn), Janet (Rich)

 

 

SR0108 - 3 - LRB095 11507 KXB 32729 r

1 Deinert, and Jeanne Anderko (Burt Siegel); his 17
2 grandchildren; and his 11 great-grandchildren; therefore, be
3 it
 
4     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL
5 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
6 his family and friends, the passing of Lester H. Miller; and be
7 it further
 
8     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
9 presented to the family of Lester H. Miller as a symbol of our
10 sympathy.