Full Text of SR1518 099th General Assembly
SR1518 99TH 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 Merle C. Bassett, who passed away on | 4 | | February 6, 2016; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Merle Bassett was born on November 9, 1928 in | 6 | | Fosterburg; his parents were Clyde H. and Nellie E. (nee | 7 | | Schmidt) Bassett; he married Norine Burk on March 28, 1948 at | 8 | | St. John's United Church of Christ in Wood River; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Merle Bassett attended Alton High School for two | 10 | | years and then graduated from East Alton Wood River High School | 11 | | in 1946; he attended DePauw University for one and a half years | 12 | | and graduated from Washington University in 1950; he later | 13 | | graduated from Washington University Law School in 1952, where | 14 | | he was awarded the Order of COIF and graduated second in his | 15 | | class; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Merle Bassett was an attorney at Bassett Law | 17 | | Office in Wood River for 64 years; he was a former special | 18 | | Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois from 1965 | 19 | | to 1999, where he helped condemn the property for Lewis and | 20 | | Clark Bridge; he was an Assistant State's Attorney from 1956 to | 21 | | 1964 under Dick Mudge; he was the attorney in the prosecution | 22 | | of James Earl Ray in a burglary charge; he was also a Khoury |
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| 1 | | League coach for many years, an avid golfer and trap shooter, | 2 | | and a member of Lockhaven Country Club; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Throughout his career, Merle Bassett represented | 4 | | the City of Wood River, the Southwest Illinois Development | 5 | | Corporation, the Village of Hartford, the Rosewood Heights | 6 | | Sanitary District, Wood River Township, Brighton Township, the | 7 | | Village of Roxana, the Village of Bethalto, Foster Township, | 8 | | and the Wood River Drainage and Levy District; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Merle Bassett was a member of St. John's United | 10 | | Church of Christ in Wood River, where he taught the mixed adult | 11 | | Sunday School Class for 19 years with Oliver Honke; he was a | 12 | | 50-year member of the Wood River Masonic Lodge #1062, where he | 13 | | was a 32nd Degree Mason; he was a Demolay and a Shriner; he was | 14 | | a member of the Wood River Jaycees and chairman of the March of | 15 | | Dimes; he served as the president of the Airport Board for the | 16 | | State of Illinois; he was also a member of the American Bar | 17 | | Association and the Bar Associations of Illinois, Missouri, and | 18 | | Madison County, and president of Toastmasters and the East | 19 | | Alton Wood River High School Foundation Board; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Merle Bassett was a member of the East Alton Wood | 21 | | River High School Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 2009; | 22 | | and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Merle Bassett was preceded in death by his | 2 | | parents; his stepmother, Velma Bassett; his stepfather, | 3 | | Darrell Finley; his son, Gerald W. Bassett; and his grandson, | 4 | | Jerrad C. Bassett; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Merle Bassett is survived by his wife, Norine; his | 6 | | daughters and sons-in-law, Laura Bassett Friedman and Eric, | 7 | | Lynn Bassett and Tommy House, and Rene and Tracy Butler; his | 8 | | grandchildren and their spouses, Marina Bassett, Sasha | 9 | | Bassett, Kaleigh (Andrew) Rider, Kyle (Val) Bassett, Madison | 10 | | Friedman, Tyler Friedman, Kathryn Butler, and Nathaniel | 11 | | Butler; his great-grandchildren, Reygan and Jackson; and his | 12 | | special friends, Beverly Pohlman, Jeannine Burk, Jennifer and | 13 | | Matt Stimac, Matt Barton, Kevin and the staff of Camp Drug | 14 | | Store, and the Rosewood Heights Volunteer Fire Department; | 15 | | therefore, be it
| 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | 17 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with his | 18 | | family and friends, mourn the passing of Merle C. Bassett; and | 19 | | be it further
| 20 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 21 | | presented to the family of Merle Bassett as an expression of | 22 | | our sympathy.
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