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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Bob McQuirter of Peoria, who passed away
4on June 7, 2014; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Bob McQuirter was born in Clinton, Mississippi to
6the Reverend Wroten, Sr. and Annie Mae (nee Murriel) McQuirter;
7he married Shirley Davis on July 5, 1968; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Bob McQuirter spent 3 years serving in the United
9States Army as a paratrooper starting in January of 1964, and
10then spent 3 years on inactive reserve duty; after basic
11training and military correspondence school, he was assigned to
12Headquarters and Headquarters Company III Corps at Fort Hood,
13Texas, for approximately 6 months; after 8 weeks of parachute
14training at Fort Benning, Georgia, his next assignment took him
15to the infamous "All American" Airborne Paratrooper unit, the
1682nd Airborne Division, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; after 30
17days at his new unit, he experienced his first introduction to
18military combat in the Dominican Republic; he was later awarded
19the National Defense Service Medal and Combat Infantryman Badge
20for service from April to July of 1965; following his service
21in the Dominican Republic, he was assigned to the infamous
22"Screaming Eagles", the 101st Airborne Brigade, in the Republic
23of South Vietnam; he served 12 months in the Republic of South

 

 

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1Vietnam and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal, the Armed
2Forces Expeditionary Medal, and his second Combat Infantryman
3Badge; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Following his military service, Bob McQuirter
5attended Jackson State University, where he received his
6Bachelor of Arts in Business; in June of 1970, he started
7working at Caterpillar Inc.'s worldwide headquarters in
8Peoria; while at Caterpillar, he charted and graphed economic
9data for 9 Latin and Central American countries, and at one
10point, during the Asian downturn, he tracked and reported
11currency changes for 42 global countries; he spent the last 11
12years of his career in Human Resources; in February of 2009, he
13retired from Caterpillar after 38 1/2 years of full-time
14service; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Bob McQuirter made significant contributions to
16the Peoria community as adviser to the Black Achievers (young
17African American teenagers) at the YMCA; he was founder and
18served as past-president of the Heart of Peoria Neighborhood
19Association and he was past-chairman of the Peoria Housing and
20Property Maintenance Commission, the Neighborhood Development
21Commission, and the Peoria Police Community Relations Advisory
22Group; he was a Children's Home Association board member, had
23recently served on the Board of Commissioners at the Peoria
24Housing Authority, and was a member of CAAR (Concerned African

 

 

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1American Retirees); in January of 2007, he and his wife,
2Shirley, were co-recipients of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
3"Drum Major" award; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Bob McQuirter was preceded in death by his father,
5Wroten McQuirter Sr.; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Bob McQuirter is survived by his wife, Shirley; 2
7sons, Brian McQuirter and Vincent (Tanesha) McQuirter; one
8daughter, Erin McQuirter; his mother, Annie Mae McQuirter; 7
9brothers, James (Sue) McQuirter Sr., Wroten McQuirter Jr.,
10Joseph (Dorothy) McQuirter, Paul (Louise) McQuirter, Gerald
11McQuirter, Dewight McQuirter, and Darel McQuirter; one sister,
12Limmie (Henry) Flowers; 4 grandchildren, Diamante', DaVion,
13DeAris, and NaShyla; and a host of nieces, nephews, other
14relatives, and friends; therefore, be it
 
15    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL
16ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
17Bob McQuirter, and extend our sincere condolences to his
18family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
19further
 
20    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
21presented to the family of Bob McQuirter as an expression of
22our deepest sympathy.