SR1897 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1897 LRB099 21905 GRL 48849 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of John Richard Steele, who passed away on February 15, 2016; and

WHEREAS, John Steele was born on April 30, 1926 in Waukegan; and

WHEREAS, John Steele was descended from a long line of entrepreneurs that can be traced back to the founding of Hartford, Connecticut and further back to Sussex, England; and

WHEREAS, John Steele lived most of his life in Waukegan as a banker in the family business, The First National Bank of Waukegan, which was established in 1852; and

WHEREAS, John Steele's passion was scuba diving on sunken shipwrecks in the Great Lakes; he is credited with finding and diving on 40 "virgin" shipwrecks and some of those dives are documented on film he took himself; he also donated countless maritime artifacts to museums and historical societies, including the Smithsonian Institution; and

WHEREAS, John Steele was preceded in death by his first wife, Berta Feltes, and his second wife, Dorothy Catlin; and

WHEREAS, John Steele is survived by his children, Joan (Robert) VanLieshout, Andrea Soderquist, Joan VanLieshout, John N. Steele, and Roberta Steele; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren; therefore, be it

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

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of John Steele as an expression of our sympathy.