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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Bonnie
4Noble of Peoria, who passed away on September 9, 2021; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Bonnie Noble was born to Robert and Laura West in
6River Forest on August 11, 1941; she attended Oak Park River
7Forest High School; she graduated from the University of
8Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Science in
9Recreation and Park Administration; she married the love of
10her life, Kent Noble, in River Forest on April 25, 1964; in
111968, she and her husband moved to Peoria and had three
12daughters, Cindy, Kristen, and Jamie; and
 
13    WHEREAS, In 1973, Bonnie Noble was the first woman elected
14as a trustee of the Peoria Park District; over the next 43
15years, she would continue to preside in a leadership capacity
16for the park district; she served 19 years as a trustee and
17board president and 24 years as the executive director; during
18her tenure as executive director, the Peoria Park District
19received the 1994, 2001, and 2010 National Gold Medal Awards
20for excellence in park and recreation management and
21accreditation as one of the first Illinois Distinguished Park
22Districts; in 2004, she was inducted as a fellow into the
23American Academy for Parks and Recreation, a national group

 

 

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1limited to 125 practicing professionals; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Bonnie Noble's major accomplishments as executive
3director were partnering with OSF Saint Francis Medical Center
4to build the downtown RiverPlex Recreation and Wellness
5Center, the development and completion of the Rock Island
6Trail in 2013, including the Knoxville Avenue bridge, leading
7efforts to establish the Peoria Playhouse Children's Museum,
8and tripling the size of the Peoria Zoo by leading a capital
9campaign in 2009; the Peoria Park District Board of Trustees
10honored her "total commitment and dedication to the citizens
11and employees of the Peoria Park District" by naming their new
12administration offices the Bonnie W. Noble Center for Park
13District Administration in 2013; and
 
14    WHEREAS, After her retirement in April of 2016, Bonnie
15Noble received the Joseph Bannon Practitioner Award, the
16Jaycees Good Government Award, the Peoria Area Chamber of
17Commerce Athena Award, and the Ray A. Neumann Tri-County
18Citizen of the Year Award, among others; she was also the
19recipient of the Charles K. Brightbill Distinguished Alumni
20Award, awarded annually by the Department of Recreation, Sport
21and Tourism at the University of Illinois; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Bonnie Noble's greatest accomplishment was the
23positive impact the Peoria Park District has had on hundreds

 

 

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1of thousands of people, the people she worked with every day
2and the families and individuals that have enjoyed the
3beautiful parks, golf courses, and facilities throughout
4Peoria; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Bonnie Noble is survived by her husband of 57
6years, Kent Noble; their daughters, Cindy (Shannon) Noble,
7Kristen (Darin) LaHood, and Jamie (Dan) Hogan; her five
8cherished grandsons, McKay, Lucas, and Theodore LaHood and
9Maxwell and Thatcher Hogan; and her brother, Robert C. (David)
10West; therefore, be it
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
12HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
13we mourn the passing of Bonnie Noble and extend our sincere
14condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved
15her; and be it further
 
16    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
17presented to the family of Bonnie Noble as an expression of our
18deepest sympathy and in gratitude for her service to her
19county and community.