Full Text of SR0349 103rd General Assembly
SR0349 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | SR0349 | | LRB103 32766 LAW 62569 r |
|
| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | 3 | | to learn of the death of Larry F. Lewis of Quincy, formerly of | 4 | | Ursa, who passed away on May 28, 2023; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Larry Lewis was born to Frank William and Imogene | 6 | | Harriet (Smith) Lewis in Quincy on February 15, 1938; he | 7 | | attended grade schools in Hughes and Ursa and Unity High | 8 | | School, and he graduated from Quincy Senior High School in | 9 | | 1956; he attended the University of Illinois, where he was a | 10 | | member of Acacia Fraternity, Field & Furrow agronomy club, the | 11 | | Marching Illini, and the varsity Men's Glee Club that | 12 | | performed at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair; after graduating | 13 | | in 1960, he returned to pursue graduate studies; he married | 14 | | Nancy Wilson on December 18, 1960, and they had two children, | 15 | | Scott and Shawn; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Larry Lewis joined his father in the seed | 17 | | business in 1961, adding Lewis Hybrid Seed Corn to the Lewis | 18 | | Seed Company portfolio; he expanded Lewis Hybrid seed sales, | 19 | | building the Lewis brand to over 100 dealers across five | 20 | | states; during his tenure, he traveled extensively to oversee | 21 | | contra seasonal seed production and quality assurance work in | 22 | | Hawaii, Florida, Puerto Rico, Chile, and Mexico; he was known | 23 | | as the visionary leader of Lewis Brands until his retirement |
| | | SR0349 | - 2 - | LRB103 32766 LAW 62569 r |
|
| 1 | | in 2007; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Larry Lewis' life passion was the seed and | 3 | | soybean industry; he was a board member and past president of | 4 | | the Illinois Crop Improvement Association and Illinois | 5 | | Foundation Seeds; he belonged to the American Seed Trade | 6 | | Association, where he served on multiple committee assignments | 7 | | and as regional vice president and president of the soybean | 8 | | division; he was an executive board member with the | 9 | | Independent Professional Seed Association and served on the | 10 | | initial Illinois Soybean Checkoff Board; following in his | 11 | | father's footsteps, he actively participated in the American | 12 | | Soybean Association and the United Soybean Board; his passion | 13 | | culminated in an Illinois gubernatorial appointment to the | 14 | | National Council for Food and Agricultural Research; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Larry Lewis was an active, diligent member of his | 16 | | community, with some of his work including the addition of the | 17 | | Ursa Town Hall to the national registry; he was a member of the | 18 | | Ursa Lions Club and Lions International for over 50 years, | 19 | | serving as district governor from 2012 to 2013 and | 20 | | representing the organization in South Korea; he was also a | 21 | | member of Mendon Masonic Lodge #449, the Quincy Consistory, | 22 | | the Ansar Shriners, the High Twelve, the Great River Jazz | 23 | | Society, and the Quincy Chamber of Commerce Ag Committee; and
|
| | | SR0349 | - 3 - | LRB103 32766 LAW 62569 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, Larry Lewis was a faithful lifetime member of the | 2 | | Ursa Christian Church, where he served as the church choir | 3 | | director for 21 years and led Christmas Cantatas; he loved | 4 | | music and shared his talent locally as part of the symphony | 5 | | chorus; he also made many homecoming appearances in the | 6 | | Marching Illini Alumni band; one of his proudest achievements | 7 | | was playing the role of Daddy Warbucks in the Quincy Community | 8 | | Theatre's production of Annie; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, In his later years, Larry Lewis enjoyed driving | 10 | | his Model A car and truck in parades, ballroom dancing, | 11 | | attending theater performances, and listening to big band and | 12 | | classical music as well as Dixieland jazz; he was a lifetime | 13 | | St. Louis Cardinals fan and enjoyed attending and watching | 14 | | many games; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Larry Lewis was preceded in death by his parents; | 16 | | his former wife; and his life companion and special friend, | 17 | | Nona Long; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Larry Lewis is survived by his sons, Scott | 19 | | (Julie) Lewis and Shawn (Shaila) Lewis; his grandchildren, | 20 | | Nicole (Spencer) Allen, Lauren (Bryan) Bickett, Kyle Lewis, | 21 | | Annika Lewis, Grayson Lewis, and Ellie Lewis; and his | 22 | | great-grandchildren, Adalyn Allen and Avery Allen; therefore, | 23 | | be it
|
| | | SR0349 | - 4 - | LRB103 32766 LAW 62569 r |
|
| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | 2 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 3 | | Larry F. Lewis and extend our sincere condolences to his | 4 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 5 | | further
| 6 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 7 | | presented to the family of Larry Lewis as an expression of our | 8 | | deepest sympathy.
|
|