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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate the Jefferson
4 County recipients of the 2008 Senior Saints Hall of Fame Honors
5 on the occasion of their accomplishments; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Ernest Collins is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force,
7 a former Illinois State Trooper, and a volunteer fire fighter;
8 he has donated much of his time and effort to volunteering for
9 various civic organizations; he has assisted in coaching sports
10 while his sons were growing up and has continued with his
11 oldest grandson; he has served as a player coach on the church
12 league softball team; he teaches the effects of alcohol while
13 driving to teenagers in Jefferson, Hamilton, and Franklin
14 Counties and teaches programs on the American flag; he is a
15 board member of the Epilepsy Foundation, Hickory Shadow Zoo,
16 and the Smith Cemetery Association; he is a member of the
17 Senior Advisory Council, delivers Meals on Wheels, serves as a
18 deacon at Meadowbrook Christian Church, and serves as president
19 of the local chapter for the Experimental Aircraft Association;
20 he is a member of the American Legion's Honor Guard and is an
21 Honor Guard Chaplain on the Operation Iraqi Freedom committee;
22 he is also a Cadet Commander for the Civil Air Patrol and is a
23 member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Moose, and Amvets;
24 and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, Lt. Colonel R.D. White volunteered for the
2 military of July of 1942, where was deployed in the Pacific
3 theatre; he later served during the Korean War and in the
4 Vietnam War until his retirement in 1970; he has served his
5 community as a deacon of his church and in assisting in the
6 building of the church's new building, he was instrumental in
7 organizing the local EAA chapter and in promoting the Young
8 Eagle Program to help youths in his community; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Ronald and Phyllis Adcock were married on July 14,
10 1956; are well known in their community for their charitable
11 works; Ronald is a former employee of the Mt. Vernon Public
12 Works Department and the Mt. Vernon Fire Department and
13 currently keeps busy with several different positions; Phyllis
14 is a former employee of the Livingston Drug Store and the E.F.
15 Wielt Company; she serves as the Chairman of the Mother March
16 of Dimes; she and her husband are members of the Red Cross
17 Disaster Team, are regular blood donors, donate care packages
18 to soldiers, deliver Christmas baskets to the needy, and are
19 certified Lane Inspectors, coaches and instructors; Ronald and
20 Phyllis are also accomplished bowlers and have both received
21 many awards and accolades for their bowling prowess; and
 
22     WHEREAS, Harold and Barbara Lemons were married on February
23 16, 1957 in Mt. Vernon; Harold is a U.S. Army veteran, having

 

 

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1 served at various posts in the United States and Germany until
2 his honorable discharge after 18 1/2 years of service; Harold
3 and Barbara have been members of the Summersville Baptist
4 Church for over 30 years and have been able to serve their
5 community through gathering school supplies, sending boxes to
6 soldiers in Iraq and boxes of toys and hygienic items to
7 children in Mexico, serving food at the food pantry, driving
8 the church van to deliver items and shuttle people to doctor's
9 appointments, making wooden crafts, cooking and washing
10 dishes, and making quilts and lap robes for the needy; Harold
11 and Barbara are also involved with Relay for Life, an important
12 event for their whole family due to family members stricken by
13 cancer; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Raymond Ruthven Neff has served as a pastor for
15 over 65 years, having served over 18 different congregations
16 during his lifetime; he has also devoted great time and effort
17 to helping children; he has served as a Scoutmaster in
18 Stanford, Illinois and Logansport, Indiana; he has developed
19 many different sports teams and an All Girls Choir in his
20 pastoral career; he has also helped build two parsonages, two
21 gyms, and five church buildings, all thanks to the carpentry
22 skills taught to him by his father; he has been married to Edna
23 Louise Catron since August 20, 1977; and
 
24     WHEREAS, Betty Hayes was employed with the Jefferson County

 

 

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1 ASCS for thirty years, working with farmers, measuring farm
2 land, and helping them grow their crops; after retiring, she
3 still wanted to help others, so she decided to help working
4 mothers with watching their children; she is an active member
5 of her church, where she currently serves as chairperson of the
6 church council board, President of Wesley United Methodist,
7 Representative for education, worship, stewardship, and
8 Cluster Representative; she helps with the Lenton Service
9 during Lent, walks for Crop Walk, Ice Cream Socials, and is
10 head of the kitchen during funeral dinners, among many other
11 volunteer duties; she is the recipient of the Mother of the
12 Years Award in 1985 and the Do Award in 2005 in recognition of
13 her many accomplishments; she and her husband, Bob, have been
14 married for 66 years; and
 
15     WHEREAS, Bennie Melton went into the Marine Corps as a
16 gunner and torpedoed Bombay in the South Pacific; he came home
17 in 1946 as a 32nd Degree Mason and worked in the oil fields; he
18 later helped build trucks and became a civil engineer; in 1958,
19 Bennie worked for a truck line and worked for almost every oil
20 company in the U.S.; he retired in 1985 and bought the Beasley
21 Motel Rest and Lounge, which he sold on contract in 1995; he is
22 an antique car collector and a respected member of Old Timer
23 Car Club of Mt. Vernon; he is a member of the Shriners, V.F.W.,
24 and is a former member of Amvets and American Legion; he has
25 always tried to help others and has driven Senior Saints in the

 

 

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1 Sweetcorn Watermelon parade for several years of his life; and
 
2     WHEREAS, John Howard has been employed at the Howard &
3 Casey Company, the Pressed Steel Car Company, the Security Bank &
4 Trust Company, and the Equitable Life Assurance Society; he
5 previously served as a City Councilman for the City of Mt.
6 Vernon and as a member and president of Mt. Vernon City Schools
7 District 80 Board of Education; he also served as treasurer and
8 member of the Executive Board of the Illinois State Historical
9 Society and Distinguished Alumnus of Mt. Vernon Township High
10 School; he is a member and past president of the Jefferson
11 County Historical Society, docent at the Historical Village,
12 and has participated in the Jefferson County Chamber, United
13 Way, American Red Cross, and adult literacy programs, among
14 other civic activities; he has been a past president and fifty
15 year member of the Mt. Vernon Rotary Club, a past president and
16 fifty year trustee of the Mt. Vernon Oakwood Cemetery, and
17 treasurer/financial secretary and fifty year member of the
18 First Baptist Church; he was the recipient of the Illinois
19 Humanities Council Studes Terkel Humanities Service Award in
20 honor of his work; he has been married to Ann Warner since
21 1951; and
 
22     WHEREAS, Donald Colwell graduated from Webber Township
23 High School in 1950 and was president of his class; he received
24 a full basketball scholarship to the Virginia Military

 

 

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1 Institute; after graduating from college in 1954, Donald went
2 into the U.S. Air Force as a 2nd Lieutenant; upon returning to
3 Bluford in 1957, he asked to teach and coach at Webber Township
4 High School; after telling them he would try it for a year, the
5 one year turned into forty-nine; Donald and his wife attend
6 church, ball games, and all school functions; they have also
7 served as scout leaders, little league coaches, and Sunday
8 School teachers; Donald currently serves as church treasurer;
9 in 1997, Donald was inducted into the Illinois Basketball
10 Coaches Association Hall of Fame in recognition of his work;
11 and
 
12     WHEREAS, Donna C. Peacock opened a TV repair shop with her
13 husband, Bill, in Ziegler in 1957; after moving with her family
14 to Mt. Vernon in 1969, they joined the East Salem Baptist
15 Church, where Donna taught Sunday School; she also served as
16 treasurer and president of the PTA; she joined the Mt. Vernon
17 Business & Professional Women in 1985 while working as an
18 office manager at the local Ramada Hotel; as a member of the
19 Mt. Vernon Business & Professional Women, she has served as
20 Secretary, Treasurer, President, Photographer, PR Chair, and
21 publisher of "The Gazette"; after learning that Bill has
22 Parkinson's disease in 1974, she and Bill became advocates
23 against the disease, starting a Parkinson's Disease Support
24 Group at Green Tree Assisted Living for Seniors and sending out
25 newsletters; Donna and Bill are currently members of Park

 

 

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1 Avenue Baptist Church, where she serves as an assistant teacher
2 for "Joy Sunday School Class" and as official photographer for
3 new members, as well as attending WOM meetings and events; and
 
4     WHEREAS, These fine ladies and gentlemen serve as models of
5 hard work, integrity, and dedication for the people of the
6 State of Illinois; therefore, be it
 
7     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
8 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
9 congratulate the Jefferson County recipients of the 2008 Senior
10 Saints Hall of Fame Honors on the occasion of their
11 accomplishments and wish them continued success and happiness
12 in the future; and be it further
 
13     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
14 presented to the Jefferson County recipients of the 2008 Senior
15 Saints Hall of Fame Honors as a symbol of our esteem and
16 respect.