Full Text of SR0942 102nd General Assembly
SR0942 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | 3 | | to learn of the passing of Don Offermann, who passed away on | 4 | | December 26, 2021 at the age of 84; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Don Offermann was born on April 30, 1937 in Red | 6 | | Bud; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Don Offermann was raised by his loving parents, | 8 | | Viola (Binder) and the Reverend Theodore Offermann, along with | 9 | | his five brothers and sisters; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, After graduating from high school in Missouri, | 11 | | Don Offermann was eager to see the "big city;" with just a | 12 | | pillow and a suitcase, he moved from Lockwood, Missouri to | 13 | | River Forest to attend Concordia Teacher's College, now | 14 | | Concordia University of Chicago; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, During college, Don Offermann pursued a degree in | 16 | | English and met his wife, Verna; after graduating in 1958, he | 17 | | and Verna were married on June 18, 1960 and were blessed with | 18 | | four children; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Don Offermann began his career in education as an | 20 | | English teacher at Luther North High School in Chicago; in |
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| 1 | | 1964, he joined the faculty of Oak Park River Forest (OPRF) | 2 | | High School, where he would remain for a truly remarkable 25 | 3 | | years; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Don Offermann entered OPRF as an English teacher, | 5 | | coaching soccer and track after school; as his career | 6 | | advanced, he served as the English department assistant chair, | 7 | | English department chair, assistant principal, assistant | 8 | | superintendent, associate superintendent, and finally | 9 | | superintendent/principal; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, As a track coach, Don Offermann trained future | 11 | | University of Illinois track star Rich Brooks; together, they | 12 | | started the Oak and William (OW) Running Club whose members | 13 | | became known as "OWies;" he remained good friends with Rich | 14 | | for the rest of his life and continued to run with the "OWies" | 15 | | three times a week into his eighties; his running friends | 16 | | remember him as "a disciplined guy" who added a "camaraderie | 17 | | of purpose" to the group; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Don Offermann was not one to stay idle; less than | 19 | | two weeks after his "retirement" from OPRF in 1999, he started | 20 | | his next career at Forest Park National Bank and Trust | 21 | | Company, where he became senior vice president of business | 22 | | development and dedicated himself to serving the community, | 23 | | making personal connections with bank patrons, and investing |
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| 1 | | in the local businesses; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Don Offermann was instrumental in the development | 3 | | of Madison Street in Forest Park; this development led to the | 4 | | creation of the thriving retail, dining, and entertainment | 5 | | district there today; during his career at Forest Park | 6 | | National Bank, he, along with his business partner Art Jones, | 7 | | created Windmill Industries through which they bought key but | 8 | | underutilized properties in Forest Park's business district, | 9 | | vetted potential new owners, did some minor renovations, and | 10 | | then transferred ownership; this was all with the primary aim | 11 | | of helping Forest Park become a better place to live, work, and | 12 | | do business; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Don Offermann dedicated himself to helping those | 14 | | around him; whether it was educating students at OPRF, running | 15 | | with fellow "OWies," or helping to grow small businesses in | 16 | | Forest Park, he was always giving back to his community; in | 17 | | addition to serving fellow citizens in his educational and | 18 | | banking careers, he volunteered on the boards of various local | 19 | | organizations, served as president of the River Forest Tennis | 20 | | Club, served as chairman of the Board of Directors for West | 21 | | Suburban Hospital and Resurrection Hospital, served as a board | 22 | | member of the Concordia University Foundation, and served as a | 23 | | member of the Advisory Board for the Hemingway Foundation; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Don Offermann is survived by his loving wife of | 2 | | 61 years, Verna; his children, Daniel (Cynthia), Nancy (Doug | 3 | | Shea), David (Gina), and Monika (Terrence Nash); and his | 4 | | grandchildren, Graham, Lindsey, Colette, Kendra, Matthew, | 5 | | Aaron, Paul, Griffin, Drew, and Jackson; therefore, be it
| 6 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 7 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 8 | | Don Offermann and extend our sincere condolences to his | 9 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 10 | | further
| 11 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 12 | | presented to the family of Don Offermann as an expression of | 13 | | our deepest sympathy.
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