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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 Warren Billhartz of
4 Collinsville on Monday, August 21, 2006; and
 
5     WHEREAS, He was born on January 3, 1927, in Centralia; he
6 attended public schools in New Baden before joining the U.S.
7 Merchant Marines as a crew member; and
 
8     WHEREAS, A veteran of two dozen crossings of the North
9 Atlantic, at age twenty, he received his U.S. Coast Guard
10 certificate of registry as a staff officer; he also holds the
11 Atlantic War Zone bar; and
 
12     WHEREAS, He later returned to school and graduated from
13 Illinois College and Washington University Law School; during
14 law school and for three years after his graduation, he was
15 associated with the law firm of Johnson & Johnson in
16 Belleville; he was a licensed attorney in Illinois and
17 Missouri; and
 
18     WHEREAS, A former Assistant Attorney General of the State
19 of Illinois, Mr. Billhartz was elected to three consecutive
20 terms in the Illinois General Assembly as Representative from
21 the old 42nd and 55th districts; he served in the Illinois
22 House until 1960, when he did not seek re-election; and
 
23     WHEREAS, He was a charter member and first president of the
24 Clinton County Board of School Trustees; he was a second
25 generation banker and had been in banking since 1954; for 21
26 years, he was with First National Bank of Collinsville, as
27 President and then Chairman; he was Chairman and principal
28 stockholder of that bank when it was bought by United Missouri
29 Bank in 1987; and
 

 

 

SR0816 - 2 - LRB094 21384 HSS 59737 r

1     WHEREAS, Mr. Billhartz was the Founder, Chairman, and
2 principal stockholder of FCB Banks; his generous donations and
3 gifts were responsible for the O.W. Billhartz Civic Center in
4 New Baden, Lehrter Community Park in Albers, the statue at the
5 Police Station, and the future home of the Billhartz Animal
6 Shelter in Collinsville, as well as the Illinois College
7 Student Investment Fund; many other charitable organizations
8 benefited from his anonymous donations; and
 
9     WHEREAS, The passing of Warren Billhartz has been deeply
10 felt by many, especially his wife, Marcia Anne, nee Allan,
11 Billhartz, whom he married September 28, 1979, in Kaui, Hawaii;
12 his son, Ward (Chris) Billhartz; his daughters, Jan Billhartz,
13 Jean T. Billhartz, and Susan Zavaglia; his sister, Eileen
14 (Olin) Hoffmann; his grandchildren, Garrett, Shane, and Jordan
15 Zavaglia, Taylor Singleton, Chandler Lotridge, Danielle and
16 Rachel Billhartz, and McCall and Caden Sheetz; his loving pet,
17 Shady Francis; and his numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces,
18 and great-nephews; he was preceded in death by parents, Oliver
19 W. and Marie, nee Engelhart, Billhartz; therefore, be it
 
20     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL
21 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
22 Warren Billhartz, and we extend our sincere condolences to his
23 family, his friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
24 further
 
25     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
26 presented to his family as an expression of our deepest
27 sympathy.