HR0644 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0644 LRB099 13182 GRL 37078 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Myrtle Rice on the occasion of her 100th birthday on June 30, 2015; and

WHEREAS, Myrtle Rice was born on June 30, 1915, the ninth of the 10 children born in her family; she was always persistent, even from a young age; in 1920, at the age of 5, she spent time in a darkened, lonely room in the Peoria Pestilence House fighting small pox; while there, she remembers being fed from trays pushed under a small opening at the bottom of the doors; her caretakers waited to see if the little girl would make it, which she did; and

WHEREAS, Myrtle Rice taught herself to drive a car in 1929, at the age of 14, observing carefully from the back seat how others did it; when her father needed a driver, she volunteered and he said "show me", which she did; and

WHEREAS, Myrtle Rice married the love of her life, Bob Rice, in 1946; the marriage lasted more than 64 years until its end after Bob's battle with Alzheimer's disease with his loving wife by his side; and

WHEREAS, Myrtle Rice had 2 sons at the ages of 17 and 19; her second son was one of the first to be delivered by caesarean section at a Peoria hospital in 1934; her son Tom passed away at the age of 63, and her son Jim survives and is 80 years old; and

WHEREAS, In her mid-20's, Myrtle Rice headed to San Francisco, working in the city's naval shipyards for 4 years during World War II; she worked as a driver for naval officers and occasionally drove semi-trucks to pick up the returning sailors from the docks; she read a lot of books while she waited in the jeep for the naval officers she drove for; the country had asked for her help and she obliged; and

WHEREAS, It was a proud moment in Myrtle Rice's life to have shaken hands with both John and Bobby Kennedy on the campaign trail when they stopped at her family's restaurant in East Peoria in 1960; she remembers the Kennedy boys' handsomeness; and

WHEREAS, Myrtle Rice lived a full and independent life in her central Illinois home, cutting the grass on her riding mower, until just last year; however, her heart issues and pulmonary problems have not seemed to slow her down much; and

WHEREAS, On June 1, 2015, Myrtle Rice moved to an independent living facility in Pekin; in the same month, she once again passed her driver's license test; she didn't need a driver's license when she began driving in 1929; and

WHEREAS, Myrtle Rice was a dedicated, loving daughter to her mother, who passed away in 1971; she has worked hard and productively her whole life and remains fiercely independent; she is blessed with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who threw her a party to celebrate her first 100 years at the end of June of 2015; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Myrtle Rice on the occasion of her 100th birthday and wish her many happy and healthy years to come; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Myrtle Rice as an expression of our esteem and respect.