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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois
3 learned with regret of the death of Dr. Rollin George Taecker,
4 Ph.D., of Naperville, on Friday, August 19, 2005; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Born in Watertown, South Dakota, Dr. Taecker was
6 the youngest of five children raised by a father who was among
7 the pioneers first settling that part of the country and a
8 mother whose grandfather had helped to found Naperville; he was
9 high school valedictorian and later received a bachelor's
10 degree from the South Dakota School of Mines; he received a
11 doctorate degree in chemical engineering from the University of
12 Wisconsin in Madison, where he gravitated toward nuclear
13 science; his early research there helped identify processes for
14 nuclear separation and oil refinement; and
 
15     WHEREAS, Dr. Taecker later became a chemical engineering
16 professor at Kansas State University, and in 1953, he helped
17 initiate President Dwight Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace program
18 at Argonne, near Lemont, an effort to promote international
19 scientific cooperation by offering other nations assistance in
20 harnessing the power of nuclear energy for peaceful uses; and
 
21     WHEREAS, An expert in his field, Dr. Taecker's career took
22 him throughout the world as he assisted efforts for the
23 peaceful use of atomic energy; in France, he was a Fellow at
24 the Saclay Nuclear Institute from 1962 to 1963; in Vienna,
25 Austria, he served the United Nations' International Atomic
26 Energy Agency as its chief of fellowships and training from
27 1969 to 1971; major assignments also took him to the
28 Philippines, Brazil, South Korea, and Japan; his intellect,
29 professionalism, and his warm and earnest style made a positive
30 and lasting contribution to friendly relations between the
31 United States and other nations; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, Dr. Taecker also devoted time to community
2 service; his wife, Patricia Precourt Taecker, assisted him as
3 an ambassador of American friendship and leader in the
4 community; together, they helped initiate programs for the
5 support of the mentally ill in DuPage County; he also served on
6 the College of DuPage's board of trustees and was elected to
7 Naperville's City Council in 1958, where he served as
8 commissioner of public works and helped devise the city's first
9 long-range comprehensive development plan for growth and
10 helped bring sewage treatment facilities into Naperville; and
 
11     WHEREAS, He is remembered as a true gentleman and for his
12 calm demeanor; he enjoyed tinkering in his garage and working
13 on his own inventions; he had been a member of Grace United
14 Methodist Church since 1955; and
 
15     WHEREAS, The passing of Dr. Taecker has been deeply felt by
16 many, especially his wife of 58 years, Patricia; his sons,
17 Kevin, Kurt, and Matt; his five grandchildren; and his
18 sister-in-law, Nel Taecker; therefore, be it
 
19     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL
20 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
21 Dr. Rollin George Taecker, Ph.D., and we extend our sincere
22 condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved
23 him; and be it further
 
24     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
25 presented to his family as an expression of our deepest
26 sympathy.