Full Text of SR0575 097th General Assembly
SR0575 97TH 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 Merritt Austin King of Geneva, who passed | 4 | | away on January 24, 2012; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on December 2, | 6 | | 1918, the son of Charles and Ruth King; he moved to Geneva in | 7 | | 1928 and was a graduate of Geneva High School, class of 1939; | 8 | | he was united in marriage to Lynne Pearson on December 6, 1944 | 9 | | in London, England while serving in the United States Army in | 10 | | World War II; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, He was present vice chairman and secretary of the | 12 | | Kane County Public Building Commission under several mayors | 13 | | since 1989; he was the alderman of Ward Two for 28 years in | 14 | | Geneva; he served as the Mayor Pro Tem for 12 years; as an | 15 | | alderman, he served as Chairman of the Streets and Walks | 16 | | Committee, the Parking Committee, and the Intergovernmental | 17 | | Relations Committee; he was a former member of the City of | 18 | | Geneva's Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Past President and a | 19 | | Board Member of the Geneva Memorial Community Center; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, He was responsible for suggesting and | 21 | | implementing the installation of Geneva's Historic Third | 22 | | Street gas lamps; he was the Historian Emeritus for the Geneva |
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| 1 | | History Center; he was a member of the Board of Directors for | 2 | | the Geneva Historical Society and had a life membership in the | 3 | | Geneva Historical Society; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, He was a member of the Geneva Township Senior | 5 | | Center Advisory Board; a volunteer at the Butterfly House of | 6 | | Peck Farm Park; a former member of the Illinois State Toll | 7 | | Highway Advisory Committee; Citizen of the Year; a member of | 8 | | the Geneva Masonic Lodge #139 AF&M; the 1995 Grand Marshall of | 9 | | the Geneva Swedish Days Parade; a 32nd degree Mason; a member | 10 | | of the Scottish Rite Medinah Temple; and a Shriner with the Fox | 11 | | Valley Shrine Club; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, He was the Past Commander of American Legion Post | 13 | | #75; the historian and a life member of American Legion Post | 14 | | #75; and a Geneva Township Republican Precinct Committeeman | 15 | | from 1947 to 2006; he attended the Army War College and the | 16 | | Washington, D. C. Engineer School; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, He was a decorated veteran, receiving the Purple | 18 | | Heart, Bronze Star, Air Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, | 19 | | French Croix de Guerre, 4 Battle Stars, and a D-Day +3 | 20 | | Survivor, Omaha Beach; he flew 9 missions in aerial photo | 21 | | reconnaissance over Germany and France; he served 3 1/2 years | 22 | | overseas in Germany, France, England, Belgium, Africa, and | 23 | | Egypt; and he received 3 Citations from the Corps of Engineers; |
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| 1 | | and | 2 | | WHEREAS, He was a charter member of Topographic Engineers; | 3 | | he was a life member of the 7th Photo Recon Group; in | 4 | | recognition of his valor while a member of the U.S. Army, he | 5 | | was awarded the French Legion of Honor, Chevalier, by the | 6 | | French government on October 13, 2008; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, He enjoyed many sports, excelling in track, | 8 | | football, and basketball at Geneva High School, earning him the | 9 | | lifetime nickname of "Speed"; as an adult he loved sailing, | 10 | | shooting skeet, and playing golf; he was thrilled to experience | 11 | | four holes-in-one over his lifetime; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, He owned and operated King Heating and Air | 13 | | Conditioning in Geneva for many years; he was also honored to | 14 | | have flown on the second flight to Washington D.C. to view the | 15 | | World War II Memorial with Honor Flight Chicago on June 25, | 16 | | 2008; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, | 18 | | Lynne; and his son Bryan; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Merritt King is survived by his daughters, Alison | 20 | | King and Lesley (Danny) Dimmick; therefore, be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 2 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 3 | | his family and friends, the passing of Merritt King; and be it | 4 | | further
| 5 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 6 | | presented to the family of Merritt King as a symbol of our | 7 | | sincere sympathy.
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