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92_SR0180
LRB9209165RHrh
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to
3 express their sincere condolences to the family and friends
4 of Kenneth George "Skip" Knop, who passed away on June 19,
5 2001; and
6 WHEREAS, Kenneth George Knop was born on February 22,
7 1926 in New Douglas Township, Madison County to Fred and
8 Estella Oltmann Knop; and
9 WHEREAS, Kenneth George Knop attended Gehrig Elementary
10 School and New Douglas and Greenville High School; he served
11 in the United States Army from 1944 through 1946, with 13
12 months spent in Europe; and
13 WHEREAS, Kenneth George Knop earned his bachelor of
14 science degree in education from Eastern Illinois University
15 in 1950 and his master's degree from the University of
16 Illinois in 1958; he also attended Washington University in
17 St. Louis, Missouri; and
18 WHEREAS, Mr. Knop taught in the Stewardson-Strasburg
19 School District from 1952 through 1982, seven of those years
20 in the junior high school and the rest as a teacher, coach,
21 athletic director, guidance counselor, and administrative
22 assistant in the high school; and
23 WHEREAS, For 18 years Kenneth Knop operated one of the
24 consistently best high school baseball programs in Central
25 Illinois; Coach Knop taught the Stewardson-Strasburg Comets
26 the game of baseball with great skill and fundamentals, which
27 accounts for the fact that his teams won nine National Trail
28 Conference championships and five second place finishes; and
29 WHEREAS, Kenneth George Knop was a charter member and
30 first president of the Strasburg Lions Club and Post 611 for
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1 10 years; he served as a member of the VFW for 3 years and a
2 member of Trinity Lutheran Church, where he served as elder
3 and held other various offices; he helped organize as well as
4 served on the board of directors of the Stewardson Historical
5 Museum; he served as Prairie Township Trustee for eight years
6 and was chairman of the town zoning board and a cemetery
7 trustee; he was a volunteer collector for the annual American
8 Cancer Society drives, a member of Stewardson-Strasburg
9 Education Association, life-time member of National Education
10 Association, a member of AARP/NRTA and Shelby County Retired
11 Teachers Association, where he served as president for seven
12 years; in addition, he served as secretary/treasurer for the
13 National Trail Conference for six years and was honored by
14 the conference as they named the Ken Knop Baseball Coach of
15 the Year Award in his honor; and
16 WHEREAS, In 1981, Kenneth Knop was elected to the
17 Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame; he was
18 later honored by the Stewardson-Strasburg School District for
19 his outstanding baseball achievements by the naming of the
20 baseball field as "Knop Field"; in 1991, he was presented the
21 Distinguished Service Award from the Alumni Association; and
22 WHEREAS, The passing of Kenneth George Knop will be
23 deeply felt by all who knew and loved him, especially his
24 wife of 48 years, Grace; his children, Glenda (husband,
25 Keith) Burgh, Kenna (husband, Dennis) Wirth, Kevin (wife,
26 Donna) Knop, Kimberly (husband, Glen) Webb, and Kyle (wife,
27 Michelle) Knop; his grandchildren, BreAne and Brenna Burgh,
28 Adrienne and Mitchell Wirth, Kellan and Mackenzie Knop, Jamie
29 and Kacie Beals, and Kayla and Kendall Knop; his
30 stepgrandchildren, Glen Jr., Eric, Justin, and Juli Webb; his
31 great-stepgrandchild, Megan Webb; his sisters, Betty
32 (husband, Vic) Albrecht, Lucille (husband, Bub) Best, and
33 Carol (husband, Charlie) Selfslaughs; his brother, James
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1 Knop; and
2 WHEREAS, Kenneth Knop will also be remembered by his many
3 colleagues and students as a talented coach, a gifted history
4 teacher, and a steadying hand in the lives of so many
5 students who made their way through Stewardson-Strasburg High
6 School; therefore, be it
7 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SECOND GENERAL
8 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
9 all who knew him, the death of Kenneth George Knop of
10 Stewardson, Illinois; and be it further
11 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
12 presented to the family of Kenneth George Knop with our
13 sincere condolences.