SR2451LRB099 23903 GRL 51438 r

1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Wayne N. "Buck" Meyer of Tuscola, who
4passed away on October 24, 2016; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Wayne Meyer was born on January 16, 1931 in
6Tuscola; his parents were Everett W. and Florentine R. Cler
7Meyer; he married Margaret L. Utterback on August 21, 1954 in
8Tuscola; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Wayne Meyer graduated from Phinney Grade School in
101945 and was a 1949 graduate of Tuscola Community High School,
11where he was homecoming king, football MVP, and honorable
12mention All-State fullback in his senior year; he is the school
13record holder for the 200-yard low hurdles and his class won
14conference championships in football, basketball, and track in
15his senior year; in 2010, he was honored as an inductee into
16the Tuscola High School Hall of Fame for his contributions to
17agriculture; in 1953, he graduated from the University of
18Illinois with high honors and earned a Bachelor of Science in
19agronomy; he also lettered in wrestling with the 1952-1953
20team; and
 
21    WHEREAS, In 1953, Wayne Meyer was commissioned as a Second
22Lieutenant in the United States Air Force after four years in

 

 

SR2451- 2 -LRB099 23903 GRL 51438 r

1the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) at the
2University of Illinois; he served active duty from 1954 to 1956
3as an Air Police security officer at England Air Force Base in
4Alexandria, Louisiana, earning the rank of First Lieutenant;
5from 1963 to 1965, he served in the Air Force Reserve Recovery
6Squad as a security officer in Decatur, earning the rank of
7Captain; in 1956, he and his wife returned to Douglas County to
8raise their growing family and farm for 40 years until his
9retirement in 1996; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Wayne Meyer was a member of the Douglas County
11Soil and Water Conservation District for 17 years and served as
12chairman for nine years; while on the Soil and Water
13Conservation District, he along with other directors defeated
14the Scattering Fork PL566 Project and testified twice before a
15congressional hearing committee in Washington, D.C. against
16the proposed Lincoln Reservoir on the Embarras River which
17would have had detrimental effects on drainage in Douglas
18County; the Reservoir project was finally de-authorized after
1910 years of battle waged by many farm organizations in the city
20of Tuscola and Douglas County; in 1977, his family was named
21the Illinois Conservation Farm Family of the Year; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Wayne Meyer served on the Douglas County Extension
23Service; he served on the Douglas County Board for one term; he
24was a member of Forty Martyrs Catholic Church; he served as

 

 

SR2451- 3 -LRB099 23903 GRL 51438 r

1commander of Tuscola American Legion Post 27 and the Douglas
2County Farm Bureau; he served as director of the District 12
3Illinois Corn Marketing Board for eight years, where he held
4various offices and attended United States Feed Grain Council
5conventions; these offices took him to Russia, Hungary, and
6Austria on goodwill missions to exchange and share ideas for
7crop production and exportation; he was also handpicked to
8serve as an agricultural adviser to the late United States
9Representative, Tom Ewing; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Wayne Meyer was an agronomist at heart and loved
11to grow things, especially in the soil of central Illinois; he
12had a love for animals which seemed to migrate to him
13naturally; he was a die-hard Tuscola Warrior and Fighting
14Illini fan and was an avid fan of the Chicago Cubs; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Wayne Meyer was preceded in death by his wife,
16Margaret; his parents; his brothers, Everett, Jr., Clarence,
17and Tom Meyer; his sister, Wanda Helm; and his grandson, Andy
18McGillen; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Wayne Meyer is survived by his children, Mike
20(Connie) Meyer, Jean Kahn, Jim Meyer, Anna (Kent) McGillen, Dan
21(Dena) Meyer, and Jaci Manzella; his grandchildren, Lauren
22Meyer, Clayton Meyer, Natalie Kahn, Kellie Kahn, Kate Blahnik,
23Jennifer Meyer, Christina Meyer, Whitney (Brady) Fennel, David

 

 

SR2451- 4 -LRB099 23903 GRL 51438 r

1Meyer, Philip Meyer, Maria Meyer, and Lidia Manzella; and his
2great-grandson, Liam Fennel; therefore, be it
 
3    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
4ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with his
5family and friends, mourn the passing of Wayne N. "Buck" Meyer;
6and be it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
8presented to the family of Wayne Meyer as an expression of our
9sympathy.