Full Text of SR0251 102nd General Assembly
SR0251 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 death of Richard L. "Dick" Thies of Urbana, who | 4 | | passed away on April 10, 2021; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Dick Thies was born in Scotts Bluff, Nebraska to | 6 | | Arnold C. and Wilma P. Thies on November 7, 1931; during his | 7 | | upbringing, he lived in a number of locations, including | 8 | | Kimbell and Gering, both in Nebraska, and Riverside, | 9 | | California, where he performed as a boy soprano at the famous | 10 | | Mission Inn; he graduated from Drummer Township High School in | 11 | | Gibson City in 1949; he received a Bachelor of Arts in History | 12 | | from the University of Illinois in 1953, where he served as the | 13 | | student president of the UI YMCA and a student chair of | 14 | | then-Governor Adlai E. Stevenson II's campaign for U.S. | 15 | | president; he married Marilyn Webber in 1954; he earned his | 16 | | LL.B., later converted to a Juris Doctor, from the University | 17 | | of Illinois College of Law in 1955; he served in the Judge | 18 | | Advocate General's Department of the U.S. Air Force from 1956 | 19 | | to 1958; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Dick Thies practiced law at the firm Webber & | 21 | | Thies, P.C. in Urbana with his father-in-law and founder, | 22 | | Judge Charles M. Webber, and his brothers-in-law, Craig R. | 23 | | Webber and Carl M. Webber; his law practice covered a wide |
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| 1 | | range of areas for a diverse client mix; he was particularly | 2 | | fond of the work he did negotiating on behalf of U.S. clients | 3 | | in the People's Republic of China and in helping with the | 4 | | development of Frasca Field in Urbana, the home of his private | 5 | | airplane he flew for 30 years; he was especially proud when he | 6 | | was joined at the firm by his sons, David and John, and later | 7 | | his grandson, Daniel; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Dick Thies was a leader in the legal profession | 9 | | and was noted by peers for serving the interests of his clients | 10 | | with skill and integrity; he served as president of the | 11 | | Illinois State Bar Association from 1986 to 1987, and he | 12 | | served in many capacities and held every high office in that | 13 | | organization; he belonged to the American Bar Association | 14 | | (ABA), where he was elected to ABA's Board of Governors in 1988 | 15 | | and was a member of the ABA House of Delegates for 27 years; he | 16 | | also held offices in a number of ABA-related organizations; | 17 | | and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Dick Thies received many awards during his | 19 | | lifetime, including the Illinois State Bar Association's Award | 20 | | of Merit, the Illinois News Broadcasters' Distinguished | 21 | | Service Award, and the Abraham Lincoln Association's Lincoln | 22 | | the Lawyer Award; he was included in the inaugural class of the | 23 | | Champaign County Bar Association's Pillars of the Bar; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Dick Thies was involved in many organizations and | 2 | | institutions in the Champaign-Urbana community; he served as | 3 | | president of the Champaign-Urbana Kiwanis Club and the Urbana | 4 | | Association of Commerce; he was chairman of the Citizens | 5 | | Advisory Board of the Urbana School Board; he was a member the | 6 | | Salvation Army Advisory Board, the Urbana Park Board, the | 7 | | Champaign-Urbana Symphony Board, and the boards of the | 8 | | National Academy of Arts and the Champaign-Urbana Urban | 9 | | League; he was a member and an elder of First Presbyterian | 10 | | Church of Urbana; he belonged to the President's Council of | 11 | | the University of Illinois Foundation and the Dean's Club of | 12 | | the University of Illinois College of Law; he was a life member | 13 | | of the University of Illinois Alumni Association, where he | 14 | | served on the Alumni Association's Trustee Selection Committee | 15 | | on four occasions; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Dick Thies loved and participated in many sports, | 17 | | including the freshman basketball and baseball teams at the | 18 | | University of Illinois; he taught his children a love of | 19 | | sports and a desire for competition at the highest levels; he | 20 | | enjoyed watching his children participate in their respective | 21 | | sports; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Dick Thies will be remembered for his life of | 23 | | commitment to his family, to his profession, to his church, | 24 | | and to his community; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Dick Thies was preceded in death by his parents; | 2 | | his stepfather, David C. Player; his brother-in-law, Craig R. | 3 | | Webber; his sister-in-law, Alice J. Webber; and his | 4 | | brother-in-law, James L. Zaccagni; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Dick Thies is survived by his wife of 66 years, | 6 | | Marilyn Webber Thies; his brother, Dr. David M. Player (Beth); | 7 | | his sister, Jennifer G. Zaccagni; his brother-in-law, Carl M. | 8 | | Webber (Betty); his children, David C. Thies (Johanna), Nancy | 9 | | Thies Marshall (Charlie), Susan Thies Harrison (Mike), John E. | 10 | | Thies (Terry), and Anne Thies Peters (Jeff); his 16 | 11 | | grandchildren, Stephanie Thies Geier (husband, Brian; | 12 | | children, Ben and Willa), Daniel Thies (wife, Page; children, | 13 | | Edward, Peter, Samuel, and Mary), Michael Thies (wife, | 14 | | Kristin), Adam Thies (wife, Bethany; son, Clive), Ryan | 15 | | Marshall (wife, Ali Marshall; children, Lucille and Ruth), | 16 | | Caitlin St. Peter (husband, Beau; daughter, Charlotte), John | 17 | | Marshall, Isaac Harrison (wife, Abigail), Marie Collins | 18 | | (husband, Jacob), Elizabeth Harrison, William Harrison, | 19 | | Kathryn Thies, Caroline Thies, Andrew Peters (wife, Ashlee), | 20 | | Luke Peters, and Bailey Peters; his 10 great-grandchildren | 21 | | (with one on the way); and his many cousins, nieces, nephews, | 22 | | and friends; therefore, be it
| 23 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL |
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| 1 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 2 | | Richard L. "Dick" Thies and extend our sincere condolences to | 3 | | his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 4 | | further
| 5 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 6 | | presented to the family of Dick Thies as an expression of our | 7 | | deepest sympathy.
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