Full Text of HR1635 095th General Assembly
HR1635 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of
Gene H. | 4 |
| Graves of Springfield, who passed away on November 23, 2008; | 5 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, Gene Graves was born on December 10, 1928 outside | 7 |
| of Marion in Crittenden County, Kentucky; his parents were | 8 |
| Eugene H. Graves and Mayme Graves; he married Norma J. Jackson | 9 |
| on October 6, 1951 in East St. Louis; and
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| WHEREAS, Gene Graves served in the United States Air Force | 11 |
| and was honorably discharged at the rank of Staff Sergeant in | 12 |
| 1949 at the age of 20; afterwards, he joined the Air Force | 13 |
| Reserve and was discharged at the rank of Second Lieutenant on | 14 |
| August 13, 1954; and
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| WHEREAS, Gene Graves earned his Bachelor of Science degree | 16 |
| from Southern Illinois University and served as president of | 17 |
| the Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity; and
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| WHEREAS, Gene Graves began his career as a schoolteacher in | 19 |
| Elkton, where he taught until 1957; from 1957 to 1959, he was | 20 |
| employed with the Ford Motor Company in labor relations; he | 21 |
| then took a job with Southern Illinois University in the |
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| community affairs department, concurrently serving as | 2 |
| president of the Madison/St. Clair County Urban League; and
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| WHEREAS, Gene Graves began his career in State government | 4 |
| in 1962, when he was appointed by Illinois Governor Otto Kerner | 5 |
| as executive director of the Board of Economic Development; in | 6 |
| 1965, the Governor created the cabinet position of director of | 7 |
| the Department of Business Development, to which Mr. Graves was | 8 |
| named as the first director; under his directorship, which | 9 |
| involved many world trade tours and international agreements, | 10 |
| he and his wife met with numerous dignitaries and world | 11 |
| leaders, resulting in the State of Illinois becoming the number | 12 |
| one export state in the nation; under his administration, | 13 |
| Illinois also went from the number 12 to the third-ranked state | 14 |
| in the nation at attracting new industry; and
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| WHEREAS, Gene Graves was instrumental in the State of | 16 |
| Illinois being named by the Atomic Energy Commission as the | 17 |
| recipient of the atom smasher built in Weston; from 1969 to | 18 |
| 1974, Gene worked as the special assistant to the president at | 19 |
| Southern Illinois University; afterwards, he took a job as | 20 |
| president of the Flamex Corporation in St. Petersburg, Florida; | 21 |
| he returned with his family to Springfield in 1975 and became | 22 |
| director of physical services of the Secretary of State's | 23 |
| office; he then worked for a short time as a realtor before his | 24 |
| retirement; and
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| WHEREAS, Gene Graves was well known amongst his peers for | 2 |
| his great appreciation for a good joke and a bad pun and his | 3 |
| penchant for telling both; he always looked forward to the | 4 |
| weekly "meeting of the minds" on Mondays at the Two Brothers | 5 |
| Lounge in Springfield; and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, Gene Graves was preceded in death by his parents | 7 |
| and his brother, William Graves; and
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| WHEREAS, Gene Graves is survived by his wife, Norma; his | 9 |
| sons, James Mitchell Graves (wife, Kim), Bradley Scott Graves | 10 |
| (wife, Judy), and Kenneth Byron Graves (wife, Barb); his | 11 |
| daughter, Leslie Janine Graves; his brother, Robert (wife, | 12 |
| Julie) Graves; his sister, Martina (husband, Loren) Wolfe; and | 13 |
| his nine grandchildren; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 15 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 16 |
| mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Gene | 17 |
| H. Graves; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 19 |
| presented to the family of Gene Graves as an expression of our | 20 |
| sympathy.
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