Full Text of SR0440 101st General Assembly
SR0440 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of Oren C. "Lou" Lowder of Springfield, who | 4 | | passed away on May 8, 2019; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Lou Lowder was born in Virden to Oren and Elenora | 6 | | (Falcetti) Lowder on March 18, 1925; he graduated from | 7 | | Cathedral Boys High School in 1943 and enlisted in the United | 8 | | States Navy during World War II; he served most of his tour as | 9 | | a Gunner's Mate First Class aboard a destroyer escort, the | 10 | | Walter C. Wann; he spent the majority of his active service in | 11 | | the South Pacific, where he earned, among many other citations, | 12 | | five Battle Stars, the Philippine Liberation Medal, and a | 13 | | Philippine Presidential Unit Citation; he married June Ruffing | 14 | | in Nokomis on October 22, 1949 and re-entered the Navy during | 15 | | the Korean War in 1951-1952; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, In January 1950, Lou Lowder joined the Illinois | 17 | | State Police (ISP), where he spent 28 years advancing in his | 18 | | career, moving from trooper to Lt. Colonel and Deputy | 19 | | Superintendent; he also served as Executive Security to the | 20 | | Governor, the first statewide Staff Inspection Team member, ISP | 21 | | Staff, chief of the Illinois State Fair detail, Area Commander | 22 | | in charge of the northern half of Illinois including Chicago | 23 | | and Cook County, and the first ISP Legislative Liaison Officer; |
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| 1 | | additionally, he graduated from the FBI National Academy in | 2 | | Quantico, Virginia; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, In 1977, Lou Lowder retired from the ISP to become | 4 | | Executive Director of the Illinois Motor Vehicle Laws | 5 | | Commission; in 1983, he served as Traffic Safety Advisor under | 6 | | Governor Jim Thompson for a year and then as Highway Safety | 7 | | Advisor to Secretary of State Jim Edgar; he was the National | 8 | | Chair of the American Association of Motor Vehicle | 9 | | Administrator's Committee to Establish Uniform Standards and | 10 | | Criteria for testing and issuing Commercial Drivers Licenses | 11 | | for the Federal Highway Administration; he also served as | 12 | | chairman of the committee that drafted the Illinois Uniform | 13 | | Commercial Driver's License Act; he retired in 1990 after 41 | 14 | | years of service to the State of Illinois; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Lou Lowder was a member of St. Frances Cabrini | 16 | | Parish; he coached CYO basketball for 13 years; he served as | 17 | | chairman of the Parish Council, chairman of the Men's Club, and | 18 | | led two parish fund drives; he and June co-chaired the parish | 19 | | fall festival for several years; for 15 years, he served as the | 20 | | ground maintenance volunteer for the parish grounds; he was | 21 | | also an active member of Knights of Columbus Council 4175 and | 22 | | was named Knight of the Year in 1983; and | 23 | | WHEREAS, Lou Lowder was a member of many civic and |
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| 1 | | fraternal organizations, including the Eagles, the VFW, and the | 2 | | Illinois Police Association; he was an active member of the | 3 | | Golden Gloves Association for over 40 years, serving as | 4 | | director of bouts, president, and franchise holder; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Lou Lowder loved most sports and was an avid fan | 6 | | of the St. Louis Cardinals; he also made an effort to attend | 7 | | his grandchildren's sporting events; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Lou Lowder was preceded in death by his parents; | 9 | | his infant son, John Oren Lowder; his granddaughter, Shawna | 10 | | Jones; his brother, Robert Lowder; and his sisters, Helen Bell | 11 | | and Orrine Lowder; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Lou Lowder is survived by his wife of 69 years, | 13 | | June; his children, Marylou Lowder Kent, Judi Stoppelwerth | 14 | | (BJ), Oren Lowder, Joe "Joby" Lowder (Trish Hannel), John | 15 | | Lowder (Jessica Basham), and Lynn Lowder (Jim Coffey); his | 16 | | grandchildren, Katie Kent-Centeno (Andonie), Nick Kent | 17 | | (Heather Drouillard), Shyla Dallas (Wayne), Cara Dasher | 18 | | (Jason), Candice McCarty (Jared), Oren "CJ" Lowder (Nicole), | 19 | | Josh Lowder (Holly Tucker), Trisha Cottrill (Josh), Jared | 20 | | Lowder, Madison Marr (Rob), Meghan Paul (Matt), Erik Lowder, | 21 | | Lyndsie Herman (Michael Hill), and TJ Herman; 19 | 22 | | great-grandchildren and one on the way; and several nieces and | 23 | | nephews; therefore, be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 2 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 3 | | Oren C. "Lou" Lowder 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 Lou Lowder as an expression of our | 8 | | deepest sympathy.
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