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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate the 2009 inductees
4 into the Jefferson County Senior Saints Hall of Fame; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Lillie Florence was born August 28, 1928, the 12th
6 child of 13 born to Alva Jake and Bessie Beal in Jefferson
7 County; she married Harry E. Arnett, her one and only true
8 love, on July 20, 1946, and they had six children, ten
9 grandchildren, and so far thirteen great-grandchildren; her
10 first job was at Woolworth and she later worked at Cummings
11 Orchard, Dix General Store, and Field Grade School; during her
12 children's school years she was involved in Field school PTA,
13 4-H, and home extension; she served as a Field Township Trustee
14 for 16 years, and an Election judge for 20 years; she has also
15 helped out with many fundraisers and has participated in the
16 Jefferson County Relay for Life; she was head cook for the King
17 City Saddle Club for many years, and was a member of the Dixico
18 Ruritian Club; the King City Saddle Club presented Lillie with
19 a silver platter for her many years of service; Lillie's
20 hobbies include quilting, gardening, embroidery, and cooking;
21 a good life saying for Lillie is "When life serves you lemons,
22 make lemonade"; and
 
23     WHEREAS, Donald Bigham was born in Mt. Vernon on December

 

 

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1 6, 1937, to Randal and Loraine Bigham; he has two younger
2 sisters, Kaye and Connie; his family attended church at 2nd
3 Baptist and he went to Edison Grade School; in 1953 he went to
4 Mt. Vernon High School, where he enjoyed school, worked behind
5 the stage in the school plays, and served as helper, earning
6 his high school service letter; he also met his wife, Donna K.
7 Sigwerth; he graduated in 1956 and was employed by Western
8 Electric Company; he traveled around the area working in
9 telephone offices; after Donna graduated from high school they
10 were married; soon their family grew and they had three little
11 girls and relocated back to Mt. Vernon; he sold insurance for
12 Mutual of Omaha and then went to adjusting for another company;
13 the family moved to Rockford, where he again changed positions
14 and started work for the J.C. Penny Company; he was later
15 promoted to a district position in Chicago and from there to
16 Milwaukee, Wisconsin; he had several great years there, and
17 became interested in firefighting and EMS services; he trained
18 and qualified as an EMT and a volunteer firefighter; after 10
19 years working with the J.C. Penny Company, he was offered an
20 early retirement and the family moved back to Mt. Vernon and
21 joined the Park Avenue Baptist Church; he became a mission
22 service corps volunteer and started building the local disaster
23 relief services; he became a member of the LEPC group and the
24 Jefferson County Iraqi Warriors, supporting the troops; he
25 applied for chaplain training and was approved to serve as an
26 on-call Chaplain for both Crossroads Community Hospital and St.

 

 

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1 Mary's Good Samaritan Hospital; he still enjoys his work in the
2 community, church, and disaster relief services; and
 
3     WHEREAS, Pat Davis was born July 13, 1932 in Nashville,
4 Tennessee, to Allan and Aline Quinn; she has 3 sisters and a
5 brother; her family later moved to High Point, North Carolina,
6 and eventually to Mt. Vernon; she attended Mt. Vernon High
7 School, where she enjoyed basketball and baseball; she later
8 left school, as many people did at the time, to work at
9 Murphy's 5-and-10-cent store, being paid $5-6 dollars per week,
10 and worked there for 8 years; she met Marvin Davis when she was
11 16; they dated a year and a half before getting married on June
12 18, 1949, and have enjoyed marital bliss for 60 years; they
13 have 5 children, Rhonda (deceased), Allen, Marla, Jeri, and
14 Marty and are the proud grandparents of 13 grandchildren (1
15 deceased) and 10 great-grandchildren; her and her husband
16 worked side-by-side for 34 years as owners of Davis Service, a
17 gas station and auto repair shop; she volunteered for years at
18 the AmVets and Rend Lake's Wayne Fitzgerald State Park and is
19 currently with Kids Hope United's Foster Grandparent program;
20 through the Foster Grandparent Program, she has volunteered at
21 Bethel and McClellan schools and is currently helping at
22 Angel's Cove; she is a lifetime member at AmVets and is active
23 in Crossroad's Senior Circle and in the Senior Circle
24 Stitchers; the Davis door has always been open to those in
25 need, whether it be family or friends; she cherishes all

 

 

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1 contact she has with children, whether they are little or big,
2 so much that she always has a pocketful of Tootsie rolls and
3 mints; her motto is "Kid's are the spice of life, and I love
4 spice!"; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Paul Dickerson was born April 1, 1926, on a small
6 farm a mile north of Bridgeport; he was the second of five
7 children to John and Marie Dickerson; his family then moved to
8 Lawrenceville; during his junior year of high school, America
9 joined World War II and soon after, he quit school and enlisted
10 in the United States Navy; he was eventually sent overseas and
11 honorably discharged less than two years later; he then signed
12 up for college on the G.I. Bill and assigned to major in
13 Business Administration; Mary was born in Cairo, to Joe and
14 Elois Flamm, the second of two daughters; she went to St.
15 Patrick's Catholic School and then Cairo Public High School;
16 she was active in school plays in high school and was the
17 student radio reporter for the school; her senior year she was
18 chosen by the Daughter's Of the American Revolution for The
19 Good Citizenship Award; Mary was also a member of the Girl
20 Scouts throughout the 10th grade; she worked at a local movie
21 theater and then later a ladies ready-to-wear store; after
22 graduating high school she went to Carbondale to Southern
23 Illinois University; Paul and Mary met while Mary was in
24 Lawrenceville visiting a former neighbor who was the librarian
25 at Paul's high school; they then met again at a Catholic Youth

 

 

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1 Group and the Newman Club at college; they were married
2 November 26, 1949, and had seven children; they moved to Mt.
3 Vernon in 1953 and are blessed with 16 grandchildren; since
4 then, Paul has been an Exploring Scout Master of Post 101; in
5 1968, he was chosen as Father of the Year by the King City
6 Retailers; he was a member of the Lion's Club, the Rotary West,
7 and served on the Good Samaritan Hospital's Board of
8 Associates; as a member of the Good Samaritan's Auxiliary, Paul
9 served as president for two terms and accrued over 1500
10 volunteer hours; he was elected to the County Board and served
11 12 years; in 1984, he was the Jefferson County Chamber of
12 Commerce's Citizen of the Year; Mary was a stay-at-home mom
13 until their youngest child was three; she then enrolled in RN
14 school at Kaskaskia College in 1972; she graduated in 1974 and
15 started working in the ICU at Good Samaritan Hospital; in 1975
16 Mary transferred to the Home Health Department and continued
17 night studies toward a Bachelors Degree in Nursing; in 1977 she
18 was promoted from Staff Nurse to Assistant Director of Good
19 Samaritan's Home Health Department; in 1984 she was the
20 Business and Professional Woman's Club Woman of the Year; she
21 also served on the Advisory Council for Senior Citizens in
22 Jefferson County, on the Board of Comprehensive Services of
23 Jefferson County, and was a member of the Jefferson County
24 Diabetic Board; Mary is presently serving on the board of SSM
25 Hospice and Home Health Care Foundation; Paul and Mary are
26 members of St. Mary's Church and are very active in all its

 

 

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1 activities; faith is a very important part of their lives, as
2 is their family; and
 
3     WHEREAS, Bern Dickneite is the oldest child of Ben and
4 Frances Dickneite, born on June 9, 1942; he was later joined by
5 five siblings, two sisters, and three brothers; he grew up in
6 St. Louis South County, Missouri; after completion of 12 years
7 of parochial education he entered the military and while
8 serving on active duty from 1960 to 1964 earned the rank of Cpl
9 E-4; he was honorably discharged in 1966; he then became
10 employed in retail and construction, and with the help of the
11 GI Bill entered college, earning a B.S. Degree in Business
12 Administration with a major in Accounting; in 1963 he met a
13 young college student, Diana J. Summa, who on January 21, 1967
14 became Mrs. Diana J. Dickneite; they have two children, Bernard
15 "Brad" Dickneite and Andrea Barrett, and have seven
16 grandchildren; upon graduating from the University of
17 Missouri, he was employed by Haskin & Sells, CPA firm, and then
18 later was employed by the National Dealers of Farm Equipment
19 Association as manager of Data Control; in August of 1980 they
20 moved to Mt. Vernon to open a Bicycle Fitness Center; he
21 retired in 2007; he is active in bicycling in organized charity
22 rides, and is presently a board member of Mt. Vernon Tourism
23 and Convention and the American Red Cross; he also helps in the
24 Relay for Life, Southern Illinois Trails System, Veteran City
25 Park, Neighborhood Crime Watch, Jefferson County Crime

 

 

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1 Stoppers, Kiwanis Club of Mt. Vernon, and the Jefferson County
2 Operation Iraqi Freedom Committee; he helps in Habitat for
3 Humanity and has worked with Group Workcamp mission in Mt.
4 Vernon; and he attends church regularly at the First
5 Presbyterian Church; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Joan Mandrell was born and raised in Ashley; she
7 worked at the local telephone company during her high school
8 years; in June of 1952 she married Harry "Jack" Mandrell and
9 they moved to Mt. Vernon; her first job in Mt. Vernon was at
10 Jefferson Loan; she then went to Commercial Credit and from
11 there to Doctor's Park; once her family was grown she worked at
12 the Mt. Vernon Post Office as a rural carrier and later
13 retired; during her many years of employment, there were
14 several intervals that she became a stay-at-home mom to her
15 five children, Steve, Sherry, Scott, Stan, and Sue; she is the
16 proud grandmother of eleven grandchildren, one
17 great-grandchild, and another due in January of 2010; she and
18 her husband, Jack, built their home on his family farm and
19 joined the West Long Prairie Christian church, where she is
20 still an active member; in March of 2001 Jack suffered a severe
21 burn accident; he spent a year in the hospital and the Lord
22 called him home in November of 2005; and
 
23     WHEREAS, Pauline Moore was born on August 9, 1912, on the
24 Triple Oak Farm in rural Jefferson County; she is one of seven

 

 

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1 children born to Walter and Mary Waite; she married Lee Moore
2 in 1936 and they had three children; she was a homemaker until
3 her children were grown and then she worked in the Mt. Vernon
4 High School cafeteria and drove a school bus; Pauline is a
5 charter member of the South Side Baptist Church, where she
6 attends regularly and is an active participant in the church’s
7 activities; she is also a 40-year member of the V.F.W., and in
8 the past has been an office holder; she has also been an active
9 member in AARP and the Sunshine Center; in April of 2005, the
10 Jefferson County Democrats awarded Pauline with the John F.
11 Kennedy award for her many years of dedication and support to
12 the Democratic Party; she has been very active in the Grass
13 Roots Organization and also served as an election judge for
14 many years; Pauline has also delivered meals to those in need
15 in her area on foot; she continues to serve as a poll watcher
16 in local, State, and national elections and is relied upon in
17 her precinct for her honesty and integrity; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Beverly Lorraine Page was born in Mt. Vernon on
19 December 4, 1924, to Clarence and Ella Nolta; she lived on
20 College Street and still lives in the very same house in which
21 she was born; she attended Field School, Casey Jr. High, and
22 then Mt. Vernon High School, graduating in 1943; Beverly
23 married Clive Elwood Page and had two children, Richard and
24 Vikki; they have 5 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren;
25 Beverly has been a Girl Scout and Cub Scout leader and has also

 

 

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1 been a leader of the TOPS Club (Take Off Pounds Sensibly);
2 rising to the challenge, she became the Queen, losing 75 pounds
3 in one of her eight years there; she is a devout Christian; she
4 has been Sunday School Superintendent, teacher, youth
5 fellowship leader, and United Methodist Woman's President; she
6 worked at District 80 Schools as a cook, and for 17 years she
7 worked at the bakery in IGA, later retiring in 1985; for the
8 past 8 years, Beverly has volunteered her time at Crossroads
9 Hospital; she has been the president and vice president of the
10 volunteer workers and presently works in the bazaar, book, and
11 bake sales; in the past years she has been nominated as
12 Volunteer of the Year for her service and dedication; Beverly
13 is proud of a great accomplishment she has earned this year, a
14 4,000-hour pin; in her spare time Beverly enjoys reading the
15 Bible, spending time with family, and working on puzzles of any
16 kind and is also an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan; she believes
17 that all of the things she has done and accomplished in her
18 life have been possible because God has given her the ability
19 and health to do what she does; and
 
20     WHEREAS, Michael Poninski was born in Pinckneyville, on
21 June 21, 1941; later his family moved to Central City, where he
22 began his schooling; he then attended and graduated from
23 Centralia High School; he attended Kaskaskia College for one
24 semester before he went to the Army Artillery for 6 months;
25 then 5 1/2 years of active Reserves; Mike worked at McDonald

 

 

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1 Aircraft in St. Louis when he met his wife Sue in 1961; they
2 were married on February 16, 1963 and moved to Woodlawn, where
3 Mike started work at the Illinois Central Car Shop, the CB&Q,
4 and the Burlington Northern Railway until retirement in July of
5 2001; Mike and Sue are the parents of Tim and Anita and are the
6 grandparents of 7; in 1971 Woodlawn did not have a Fire
7 Department and Mike was instrumental in establishing the Fire
8 Department and helped raise funds to purchase the first Fire
9 Truck in 1972; Mike has been a fireman for 37 years and Fire
10 Chief since 1993 for 16 years; he has also spent 14 years on
11 the Woodlawn Grade School Board, 30 years on the Woodlawn
12 Christian Church Board, 3 years on the Woodlawn Village Board,
13 and 14 years as a Woodlawn Little League Coach; in 2004, Mike
14 began a new challenge when he was diagnosed with cancer; he was
15 diagnosed again in 2007; his tests have now come back clear and
16 he continues to serve as the Woodlawn Fire Chief; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Lillian Ruth McKitrick Scott was born on March 3,
18 1925 to Jewell and Corine McKirtrick, in Wayne County; she was
19 the third oldest of five children, and attended a one-room
20 elementary school and graduated with honors from Wayne City
21 High School in 1943; while in high school, she served as
22 president of the Girls' Athletic Association, as well as
23 Editor-in-Chief of the school yearbook; in 1947, she married
24 Loren Dale Scott and they were married for 39 years when Loren
25 passed away in December of 1986; early in their marriage,

 

 

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1 employment opportunities took them to Cairo and then to Mt.
2 Vernon; in 1956, Loren and Lillian were blessed with a
3 daughter, Lisa; in the 1960s Lillian and Loren joined First
4 United Methodist Church in Mt. Vernon; in 1961, Lillian began
5 to fulfill her life long dream of returning to college and
6 earning a degree; when she finally stopped taking classes in
7 1980, she had not only earned an Associates of Arts Degree from
8 Mt. Vernon Community College, but also a Bachelor of Science
9 Degree in Education from Southern Illinois University in
10 Carbondale, and a Master of Science Degree in Special
11 Education; she was recognized on Honors day at Southern
12 Illinois University in Carbondale with a Superior Scholastic
13 Achievement Award; in 1974, Lillian joined the staff at Mt.
14 Vernon Township High School as a Special Education instructor
15 and retired in 1993; Lillian is a member of both Kappa Delta Pi
16 and Pi Lambda Theta, honor fraternities for professional
17 educators; she is also a member of the Association for Retarded
18 Citizens; even though she has received many academic and
19 professional honors, Lillian is most proud of her letters from
20 Eunice Kennedy Shriver on completing Special Olympics Training
21 School; she often chaperoned students on weekends and in the
22 summer to other cities so that they could compete as Special
23 Olympic Athletes; currently she volunteers at Angels on
24 Assignment, and is a 50-year member of the Eastern Star; in
25 addition to her being recognized as a Senior Saint, Lillian has
26 also recently been nominated as this year's Illinois Retired

 

 

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1 Teachers Jefferson County Honoree; and
 
2     WHEREAS, Beverly Walker was born in Akin on February 15,
3 1938; she was the oldest of six siblings to Roger and Katherine
4 Neal; her family moved to Mt. Vernon when she was three;
5 Beverly attended Edison Grade School, Casey Junior High, and
6 Mt. Vernon High School and graduated in 1956; two weeks after
7 graduating, Beverly married Gale Galloway and had six daughters
8 in a span of ten years; Gale was a Baptist Minister and Beverly
9 served alongside him in churches throughout Indiana, Missouri,
10 and Texas; after twelve years of marriage Gale left Beverly;
11 she then started on the journey of rearing their daughters
12 alone; Beverly enrolled in secretarial courses and earned her
13 Executive Secretarial Diploma from Business College in
14 Nacogdoches, Texas; she was interviewed by several federal
15 government agencies and was hired in December of 1970 by the
16 Internal Revenue Service as a clerk typist and worked her way
17 up to a supervisory position as the Representative for the
18 agency; after a number of years as a single person, she married
19 Jesse Walker in Oklahoma and he passed away in 1996; Beverly
20 retired in 2005 but has kept busy volunteering her time and
21 services to helping others; in 2004-2005, she was the president
22 of the local Business and Professional Women and was Director
23 and Regional Director for three groups in Southern Illinois;
24 for four years she has worked with a group of women helping to
25 build homes; Habitat for Humanity in the Alton area has been

 

 

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1 blessed with four homes built for the most part by women;
2 Beverly is presently a Facilitator for the Delilah Jones Women
3 on Missions group at Park Avenue Baptist Church; she plans to
4 travel in the near future with friends and involve herself in
5 volunteering to serve where needed; everyday when she opens her
6 eyes, she thanks God for another day and seeks His plans for
7 her and the new day; therefore, be it
 
8     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
9 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
10 congratulate the 2009 inductees into the Jefferson County
11 Senior Saints Hall of Fame and wish them all success in their
12 future endeavors; and be it further
 
13     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
14 presented to the 2009 inductees into the Jefferson County
15 Senior Saints Hall of Fame as symbols of our respect and
16 esteem.