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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3to learn of the death of Paul Rector of Urbana, who passed away
4on March 24, 2021; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Paul Rector was born in Afton, Oklahoma to John
6Fred and Edna (Harris) Rector on March 5, 1921; he grew up in
7Urbana, delivering both the Courier and The News-Gazette; he
8was an active Boy Scout and always enjoyed visiting Camp
9Drake; he was proud to be an Eagle Scout; he graduated from
10Urbana High School in 1940, where he was a state champion in
11wrestling; after three semesters at the University of Illinois
12studying business and accounting, he was drafted into the U.S.
13Army; he married Billie Wesson of Sidney in 1943 at the family
14home, and they renewed their vows in front of the same
15fireplace 67 years later; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Paul Rector received his commission as a second
17lieutenant in the Army in 1943; he completed basic training at
18South Camp Polk, Louisiana; his Eagle Scout rank helped him
19qualify for Officers Training School, which he completed at
20Fort Knox, Kentucky; he served in the 775th Tank Battalion in
21Papua New Guinea and the Philippines; he was discharged as a
22first lieutenant and returned home to Urbana on Christmas Day
231945; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Paul Rector began working as head inspector at
2the R.H. Bishop Co.; he became a member of the Local 149
3Plumber & Steamfitters Union in 1949; he also worked for F.R.
4Inskip Plumbing and Heating as head of the service department;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, Paul Rector's family had a tradition of holding
7family reunions; he never missed one and continued to travel
8well into his 90s, with family reunion trips to Hawaii, Puget
9Sound in Washington, the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and
10Branson, Missouri; he enjoyed traveling and loved to drive
11across the U.S. and explore and visit family members along the
12way; he took his family on many camping trips to numerous state
13parks in Illinois and Indiana; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Paul Rector and Billie were active in the First
15Presbyterian Church in Champaign, and they went on several
16mission trips for their church and enjoyed their Bible study
17groups; they worked together restoring their rental properties
18and always seemed to have a project that needed attention;
19they enjoyed being with their family and were extremely proud
20of their children; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Paul Rector was the husband of Billie; the father
22of Sharon Rector, James (Gail) Rector, and Sue (Skip) Inskip;

 

 

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1the grandfather of eight; the great-grandfather of 10; the son
2of John Fred and Edna (Harris) Rector; and the brother of Earl
3Rector, Mary Fern (Rector) Atwood, Lottie Bernice (Rector)
4LaFuze, Dennis Rector, Orton Rector, John Henry Rector, and
5Leo Harris Rector; therefore, be it
 
6    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
7ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
8Paul Rector and extend our sincere condolences to his family,
9friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further
 
10    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
11presented to the family of Paul Rector as an expression of our
12deepest sympathy.