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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Walter
4 Thomas Morey of Decatur, who passed away on March 18, 2009; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Walter Thomas Morey was a 1936 graduate of Stephen
6 Decatur High School; in 1940 he graduated from the University
7 of Illinois and was elected President of the Student Senate,
8 Cadet Colonel of the ROTC, and Business Manager of the Illio;
9 he was also a member of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity; and
 
10     WHEREAS, In 1941, his law studies at Harvard were
11 interrupted by the outbreak of World War II; he served three
12 years of active duty with the 36th Field Artillery in North
13 Africa, Italy, and France; Major Morey's unit was the first to
14 fire on the mainland of Europe in 1943; he was decorated with
15 the Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, and three French Croix de
16 Guerre, awarded by the French Government; and
 
17     WHEREAS, In November of 1945, Major Morey returned home and
18 married Dorothy Page Huff; in 1947, Walter graduated from
19 Harvard Law School and returned to Decatur to begin work as a
20 legal counsel for the A.E. Staley Company; and
 
21     WHEREAS, At the outbreak of the Korean War, he served as a

 

 

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1 battalion commander in Korea until 1951; upon his return to
2 Decatur, he practiced law alongside his father; in 1955 he
3 organized Soy Capital Bank and five years later he founded
4 Security Savings and Loan; and he was a partner in the
5 development of Brettwood Village Shopping Center; and
 
6     WHEREAS, He was elected to the Decatur City Council in 1960
7 and served six years; over the course of his profession, Walter
8 was honored to be a Millikin Trustee and member of the
9 University of Illinois President's Council; he served as
10 president of the Decatur Bar Association, the Rotary Club, the
11 United Way of Macon County, and the American Red Cross; and he
12 served as an elder at First Presbyterian Church; and
 
13     WHEREAS, After 50 years of tireless work and energy, he
14 retired in 2005; Walter was an avid lover of history, travel,
15 adventure, and Tabasco sauce; his sense of humor and challenge
16 for others to succeed will always be remembered; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Walter's family includes his wife of sixty-three
18 years, Dorothy; his three daughters, Madelyn Morey, Cynthia
19 Smith and her husband Robert C. Smith, and Marcia Morey; his
20 sister, Barbara Morey Shade; his grandchildren, Sean and
21 Cassandra Smith, Trevor Smith and Nathan Smith, Rob and Leslie
22 Gandy, Page Gandy, and Jamie Kerr; and his great-grandson,
23 Hudson; therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
3 mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Walter
4 Morey; and be it further
 
5     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
6 presented to the family of Walter Morey as a symbol of our
7 sincere sympathy.