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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Bruce H. Conley of Elburn, who passed
4away on September 11, 2010; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Bruce Conley was born on April 13, 1950, in
6Elburn; he was the youngest child of Charles and Winifred
7McMurray Conley; he spent his early years playing in his
8neighborhood, "hunting tigers", playing cowboys and Indians,
9and spending many hours swinging in his grandparents' backyard,
10where sometimes he could be heard singing "O, My Papa"; his
11outdoors activities were often limited due to hay fever and
12allergies, leading him to learn to express himself through
13music and writing; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Bruce Conley attended Elburn Grade School and
15Kaneland High School, where he excelled in music and graduated
16with the Class of 1968; he began playing cornet in the fifth
17grade and took private lessons at Dee Palmer's in DeKalb; he
18played a Bach trumpet in high school and college, at many
19family "jam sessions" and, until recently, in tribute to many
20veterans as they were laid to rest; as a teenager, his music
21took him another direction and he helped create The Uther Days,
22a rock band later also known as Denver Green; Bruce played lead
23guitar, with Dave Johnson, Steve Gliddon, and Bob Hamblen

 

 

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1making up the rest of the band; and
 
2    WHEREAS, After graduation, Bruce Conley attended North
3Central College in Naperville, where he majored in music;
4during his senior year in high school, he began training as an
5aid at Delnor Hospital in St. Charles; while at Delnor
6Hospital, he met Kristine McConnaughay, a junior at St. Charles
7High School, and the pair soon fell in love; after his freshman
8year at North Central, he transferred to Southern Illinois
9University in Carbondale, where he began his studies in
10mortuary science; he subsequently studied psychology at
11Wisconsin State University and mass communication at Northern
12Illinois University before entering the Army Reserve in 1971;
13after returning home, he became an on-air announcer at WKKD-FM
14in Aurora; and
 
15    WHEREAS, On October 7, 1972, Bruce and Kris Conley were
16united in marriage at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in St.
17Charles; the couple settled into their home on South Main
18Street in Elburn; that same year, he decided to return to his
19mortuary science studies and began attending Worsham College in
20Chicago, where he graduated in 1973, and joined his parents in
21the family business; on October 11, 1976, Bruce and Kris were
22blessed with the birth of their son, Benjamin Hale; on February
231, 1982, Bruce and Kris were once again blessed with the birth
24of their daughter, Sarah Louise; in 1983, Bruce and his family

 

 

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1moved to their new home on Main Street; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Throughout his life, Bruce Conley was passionate
3about helping grieving children; in 1975, he penned
4"Butterflies, Grandpa & Me", a story and coloring book
5illustrated by his sister, Karen, and written to help explain
6death, grief, and the funeral to children; thousands of copies
7of the book were published and used throughout the years by
8funeral homes, churches, and hospice programs, along with his
9later books, "Handling the Holidays" and "Plain Paper Poems",
10which contained poems written by Bruce and Karen; he also wrote
11a number of bereavement pamphlets, several of which were
12translated and used in bereavement groups in South Africa; his
13publications are still used across the country by those who are
14dedicated to helping grieving families; his writing and
15speaking on grief also attracted him to a number of self-help
16programs that began in the early 1980s across the Fox Valley;
17and
 
18    WHEREAS, Bruce Conley was instrumental in the founding of
19Compassionate Friends, Survivors of Suicide, the Widowed
20Persons Service, Fox Valley Hospice, and the DeKalb Hospice,
21among many other programs; in 1983, he founded Elburn's first
22counseling center with Dr. Del Hagin of Aurora College, which
23would grow beyond bereavement to become Conley Outreach
24Community Services, which was incorporated as a not-for-profit

 

 

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1organization in 1995; in the fall of 1985, Bruce took on the
2challenge of saving the old Elburn Elementary School as a
3community center; with the help of many others in his
4community, he succeeded and founded the Elburn and Countryside
5Community Center as a not-for-profit organization; Bruce was
6involved in State and national associations concerned with
7bereavement care throughout much of the 1990s; in 1995, he led
8the first conclave between the National Hospice Organization
9and the National Funeral Directors Association; in 1998, he
10chaired the Association for Death Education and Counseling
11national conference held in Chicago; in 2000, his focus
12returned home to take over the West Towns Network, a tax
13supported program of 708 Inc., which became a service of Conley
14Outreach; in 2001, Bruce joined with Dr. Michael Mangis and Dr.
15Donald Preussler of Wheaton College to create the Center for
16Rural Psychology, which took over the counseling arm of Conley
17Outreach to become Heartland Counseling; Bruce's ultimate
18vision for combined bereavement and community care found
19dimension in his dream of a barn raising on the grounds of the
20Ravlin homestead in Kaneville which he acquired in 1997; though
21the barn never came to be, many of the programs and services he
22envisioned did evolve at the farm through the tireless efforts
23of volunteers who created a prayer garden and made use of
24existing buildings to host various programs and gatherings; in
252005, Bruce and Kris moved from Elburn to make their home at
26the Conley Outreach Farm in Kaneville; he was also a member of

 

 

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1the Illinois Funeral Directors Association, the National
2Funeral Directors Association, ADEC, Blackberry Lodge #630 AF &
3AM in Elburn, and the Community Congregational Church in Elburn
4and helped various schools to create crisis teams and programs
5to meet the needs of students; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Bruce Conley wrote countless songs and stories
7that left special memories in the hearts of his children,
8niece, nephews, and friends; his repertoire included songs of
9faith, songs for travel and adventure, and even a song for
10"going to get a Christmas tree"; his most recent song, "My
11Offering, The Vision", was penned in the last days of his life;
12Bruce loved children and spent many years developing programs
13to help and to teach the children of his community and the
14world at large; he also wrote songs for his nieces and nephews,
15great-nieces and great-nephews, and his grandchildren,
16including a Christmas story, "Bethlehem Kids", which included
17not only his grandchildren but several other children who held
18a special place in his heart; throughout his battle with
19cancer, he wrote inspiring journal entries on Caring Bridge
20that were read by thousands of people across the country who
21were touched by his God given skills, caring, words, vision,
22and faith; and
 
23    WHEREAS, Bruce Conley was preceded in death by one child in
24infancy; his parents, Charles and Winifred Conley; his brother,

 

 

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1Wayne; his paternal and maternal grandparents; his
2father-in-law and mother-in-law, Lloyd and Gladys
3McConnaughay; and his uncle, George McCloud; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Bruce Conley is survived by his devoted and loving
5wife, Kris; his son, Ben (C.J.) Conley; his daughter, Sarah
6Conley; his beloved grandchildren, Andy, Em, Matt, and Mikey
7Conley; his sister, Karen (Les) Howard; his niece, Sheila
8(Phillip) Albano and their children, Nick and Katherine; his
9nephew, Bill Howard; his sister-in-law, Karen (Bill) Wootton
10and their son, Daniel Wootton; his aunts and uncle, Ruth
11McCloud and Ralph (Ferne) Conley; his extended family of
12cousins and their families; his many friends; and the countless
13people who have found comfort and hope in his writings, poems,
14and songs; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Bruce Conley will be fondly remembered by all who
16knew and loved him for his selfless and compassionate nature,
17his incredible creativity and talent, and his wonderful sense
18of humor and kindness to all; therefore, be it
 
19    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL
20ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
21his family and friends, the passing of Bruce H. Conley; and be
22it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2presented to the family of Bruce Conley as an expression of our
3sympathy.