SR0185 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0185 LRB096 12113 KXB 24240 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Donald E. Drake of Woodstock, who passed away on February 6, 2009; and

WHEREAS, He was born September 28, 1942, in Biloxi, Mississippi, to Ernest and Doris (Kobel) Drake; he graduated from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, earning both his bachelor's and master's degrees; he took pride in being the first in his family to graduate from college; and

WHEREAS, He taught at Mattoon High School in Mattoon in the early 1960s; he later moved to Antioch, where he taught economics and managed media services at Antioch High School from 1966 to 1971; the longest span of his professional career was spent at College of Lake County in Grayslake, where he directed the college's audio-visual and instructional media programs from 1971 to 1989 and was heavily involved in development of the college's distance learning programs; and

WHEREAS, In 1989 he left the college to accept the position of executive director at the Northern Illinois Learning' Resources Cooperative (NILRC), a statewide cooperative that negotiated development and purchase of telecourses and other media products and services for community colleges; he took early retirement from education in 1996; and

WHEREAS, For several years, he worked as a professional photographer, photographing weddings, athletic teams, and families; he also was co-owner of Horizon Travel in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, and was involved in planning and organizing group cruises; and

WHEREAS, In 1991 he married Dorothy Regan of Woodstock, also an administrator at College of Lake County; they lived in Woodstock from 1991 to 1995, then relocated to LaCrosse, Wisconsin; they returned to McHenry County in 1998 when Dorothy took the position of vice president for development and director of the college foundation at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake; they lived in Harvard until returning to Woodstock in 2006; and

WHEREAS, He was a past member of the Woodstock Public Library Board of Directors, a regular volunteer at Illinois State wrestling tournaments, a knowledgeable movie buff, a fan of HO model trains, and an avid traveler; he and his wife returned only three weeks before his death from a vacation in Australia and New Zealand; he took pride in having traveled through 19 countries; he loved all dogs but had a special affection for his basset hound, Morgan; and

WHEREAS, He and his wife were members of Resurrection Catholic Church in Woodstock; he took pride in his involvement in the RCIA program in 1991-92, which marked his entry into the Catholic faith; and

WHEREAS, He was the loving husband of Dorothy (Regan) Drake; the cherished son of Doris (Kobel) Drake; the brother of Karl (Mary) Drake and David (Lynn) Drake; the loving brother-in-law of Barbara (Regan) Pokorny, Michael (Karen) Regan, and John Regan; and the proud uncle of Matthew Drake, Nicholas Drake, Kathleen (John) Slade, Diane (James) Pokorny-Wilson, John J. (Maria) Pokorny, Craig Drake, Missy (John) Bryant, and Jeramy Drake; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Donald Drake; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Donald Drake as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.