Full Text of HR1029 102nd General Assembly
HR1029 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Thomas | 4 | | A. Oakley of Quincy, who passed away on April 13, 2022; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Thomas Oakley was born to Thomas C. and Mary | 6 | | Susan Sullivan Oakley in Quincy on June 24, 1932; he attended | 7 | | Quincy public schools and graduated from Quincy High School in | 8 | | 1950; he graduated from Duke University in 1954 with a | 9 | | bachelor's degree in Economics; following graduation, he | 10 | | served in the Air Force Strategic Air Command as a pilot; he | 11 | | married Anne McDonald in Raleigh, North Carolina on December | 12 | | 22, 1954, and she preceded him in death in 2015; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, In 1958, Thomas Oakley returned to Quincy to | 14 | | re-enter the family business of Quincy Newspapers, Inc., now | 15 | | Quincy Media, Inc., as a fourth generation family member; in | 16 | | 1968, he became president of the company following the death | 17 | | of his father; as president/CEO from 1969 to 2008, he led the | 18 | | company's growth from owning and operating the Quincy | 19 | | Herald-Whig and WGEM AM-FM-TV to adding television stations in | 20 | | several markets and one additional newspaper; he resigned as | 21 | | president/CEO in 2008 but remained active in the company as | 22 | | publisher of the Herald-Whig until 2017 and as a member of the | 23 | | board of directors of Quincy Media until it sold its |
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| 1 | | television and radio stations to Gray Media and its newspapers | 2 | | to Phillips Media in 2021; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Thomas Oakley served on numerous committees and | 4 | | in many organizations throughout his life; notably, he helped | 5 | | found the Joint Industrial Development Commission (JIDC), | 6 | | which was the predecessor organization to the Great River | 7 | | Economic Development Foundation (GREDF); he was a member of | 8 | | the Quincy University Board of Trustees and a member of the | 9 | | board of directors of the National Association of | 10 | | Broadcasters; he served as a chairman of the Television Bureau | 11 | | of Advertising and on a newspaper industry committee dealing | 12 | | with cross ownership of television stations and newspapers; he | 13 | | also served for over 40 years on the USGA Greens Section | 14 | | Committee; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Thomas Oakley was a strong advocate for the | 16 | | United Way and for the construction of a new YMCA building in | 17 | | 1970; he was also an active supporter of the Community | 18 | | Foundation of Western Illinois and Northeast Missouri; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Thomas Oakley spent over 60 years working on | 20 | | highway development for the Tri-States as the region was | 21 | | bypassed in the formation of the country's interstate system | 22 | | in 1956; through his involvement and leadership, the region | 23 | | ultimately has become the crossroads of three major highways |
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| 1 | | linking the tri-state region to the rest of the country; he | 2 | | recently donated one million dollars to fund the Tri-State | 3 | | Development Summit at Culver Stockton College to foster | 4 | | further, ongoing regional development work; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Thomas Oakley was recognized with many awards for | 6 | | his community service, including being inducted into the | 7 | | Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame and being the | 8 | | first recipient of the annual Boy Scout community service | 9 | | award;
he received lifetime awards from the Midwest Chapter of | 10 | | the National Television Arts and Sciences, the Broadcasters | 11 | | Foundation of America, the National Association of | 12 | | Broadcasters, the Illinois Broadcasters Association, and the | 13 | | Illinois Press Association; he was awarded an honorary degree | 14 | | from Quincy University in 1975; a portion of the Chicago to | 15 | | Kansas City Expressway was named the Thomas A. Oakley Highway | 16 | | in 2009; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Thomas Oakley loved spending time with his | 18 | | family, especially at family events in Florida, Quincy, and | 19 | | the upper peninsula of Michigan; he was an avid golfer who | 20 | | traveled all over the world to play, including 20 years of | 21 | | trips to Scotland; he was also a frequent hunter and boater; | 22 | | and
| 23 | | WHEREAS, Thomas Oakley was preceded in death by his |
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| 1 | | parents; his wife; his son, Thomas C. Oakley II; his | 2 | | son-in-law, Stephen Winters; his daughter-in-law, Lisa Smith | 3 | | Oakley; and his two brothers, Peter A. and David R. Oakley; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, At the time of his passing, Thomas Oakley was | 5 | | survived by his son, Ralph; his daughter, Mary; his | 6 | | grandchildren, Tom (Lesley) Van Ness, Ben (Amanda) Van Ness, | 7 | | Allison (Dustin) Oakley Hall, Jonathan (Mark Peacock) Van | 8 | | Ness, and Sullivan Oakley (Joseph Burg); his step-grandchild, | 9 | | Jennifer Reekie (Don Krutmeier); his
great-grandchildren, | 10 | | Olivia Van Ness, Liam Hall, Sterling Van Ness, Cameron Van | 11 | | Ness, Anne Hall, Emma Van Ness, and Oliver Hall; his | 12 | | step-great-grandchildren, Isla, Campbell, Cora, and Ailsa | 13 | | Reekie and Brynn and Carter Krutmeier; his sisters-in-law, | 14 | | Mary Oakley, Signe Oakley, and Mabel McDonald; his | 15 | | brother-in-law, Ralph McDonald (Meg McLaurin); and several | 16 | | cousins, nieces, and nephews; therefore, be it
| 17 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 18 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 19 | | we mourn the passing of Thomas A. Oakley and extend our sincere | 20 | | condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved | 21 | | him; and be it further
| 22 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
| 23 | | presented to the family of Thomas Oakley as an expression of
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| 1 | | our deepest sympathy.
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