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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION | ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives are pleased to congratulate Ann Kovalick of | ||||||
4 | Yorkville on the occasion of her 100th birthday; and | ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, Ann Kovalick was born in Hazelton, Pennsylvania | ||||||
6 | on February 1, 1924; her father drove delivery wagons and | ||||||
7 | worked in coal mines; her mother was a homemaker; at the time, | ||||||
8 | they had no car, television, telephone, or indoor plumbing; | ||||||
9 | and | ||||||
10 | WHEREAS, Ann Kovalick graduated from Hazelton High School | ||||||
11 | in 1942 and went to work in the Craft Factory making men's | ||||||
12 | shirts; she worked there throughout World War II; after the | ||||||
13 | war, she loved going dancing at big band and swing band | ||||||
14 | concerts; eventually, she waved at a guy named Joe, and they | ||||||
15 | subsequently married and moved to Illinois in 1947; they lived | ||||||
16 | in Aurora for a time, but later they moved to a farm in | ||||||
17 | Bristol; and | ||||||
18 | WHEREAS, Ann Kovalick and her husband raised dairy cattle | ||||||
19 | and farmed acres of corn and beans; later, they moved to Sugar | ||||||
20 | Grove to another farm; she helped with everything on the farm | ||||||
21 | and raised her three children, Barbara, Joe, and Ann; she also | ||||||
22 | raised prize-winning pigs and had innumerable pets, including |
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1 | dogs, cats, birds, foxes, and racoons; she also had several | ||||||
2 | dachshunds; and | ||||||
3 | WHEREAS, Ann Kovalick's parents later moved to Illinois, | ||||||
4 | where they lived in an apartment on her farm; her dad worked at | ||||||
5 | a factory in Aurora until he retired; they were well taken care | ||||||
6 | of by the family until they passed; and | ||||||
7 | WHEREAS, Ann Kovalick never learned how to drive; she | ||||||
8 | relied on friends and family to take her places; she was a good | ||||||
9 | cook and a wonderful baker; her pies won many ribbons at local | ||||||
10 | fairs; everyone who visited was welcome at her table to enjoy | ||||||
11 | some of her homemade goodies; and | ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, Ann Kovalick and her husband were very active | ||||||
13 | with the American Legion; they helped cook at legion | ||||||
14 | functions; her husband served in several offices, and she was | ||||||
15 | in the auxiliary; their youngest daughter was involved in all | ||||||
16 | of the parades dressed in red, white, and blue; and | ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, Ann Kovalick's husband worked for seed companies, | ||||||
18 | and they were able to do a lot of traveling with the dealers; | ||||||
19 | cruises were their favorite; they also toured Hawaii, and her | ||||||
20 | favorite story from that trip was about the time she was | ||||||
21 | leaving a pineapple plantation and her husband took off in the | ||||||
22 | car without her; she also loved Las Vegas and playing the slot |
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1 | machines; she visited Deadwood, South Dakota with her | ||||||
2 | daughters and attended a motorcycle rally in Sturgis; and | ||||||
3 | WHEREAS, Ben's Giant Pumpkins was formed on Ann Kovalick's | ||||||
4 | farm, and for many years, acres of pumpkins, squash, and | ||||||
5 | Indian corn were grown; she sold pick your own pumpkins for the | ||||||
6 | month of October and had many customers from all over the area; | ||||||
7 | and | ||||||
8 | WHEREAS, Ann Kovalick's husband, Joe, passed away in 2007 | ||||||
9 | during October; his loss is still felt, and her son now carries | ||||||
10 | on the farming; and | ||||||
11 | WHEREAS, Ann Kovalick's son lives on and runs the family | ||||||
12 | farm; one of her daughters lives in Missouri, and the other | ||||||
13 | daughter now resides in Texas; she is a proud grandmother of | ||||||
14 | five and a great-grandmother of 10; and | ||||||
15 | WHEREAS, Ann Kovalick's worst enemy was arthritis; the old | ||||||
16 | farm house with many stairs became too difficult for her to | ||||||
17 | manage, so she now resides at Heritage Woods Assisted Living | ||||||
18 | Center in Yorkville, where she is taken care of and has many | ||||||
19 | friends; her family visits her and lights up her day; she now | ||||||
20 | drives, but in a wheelchair, so everyone needs to look out; she | ||||||
21 | is called an energizer bunny because she just keeps going; | ||||||
22 | therefore, be it |
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1 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
2 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
3 | we congratulate Ann Kovalick on this historic occasion and | ||||||
4 | wish her the best 100th birthday celebration; and be it | ||||||
5 | further | ||||||
6 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
7 | presented to Ann Kovalick as a symbol of our respect and | ||||||
8 | esteem. |