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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Darrell Wayne Beck of Decatur; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Darrell Beck was born in Carson Township in
5Fayette County, on February 27, 1933; his parents were Emma and
6Noble Beck; he married the love of his life, Ursula, on
7November 14, 1953; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Darrell Beck began a life-long love affair with
9dancing at a very young age; he studied acrobatic dancing,
10ballet, and tap; he eventually developed a dedication to
11ballroom dancing and ultimately, he and Ursula became dance
12instructors at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Darrell Beck served his country with pride and
14distinction for four years in the United States Navy; following
15his stint in the Navy, he moved back to Decatur and began
16working for McKeever Communications; he eventually became
17President and CEO at McKeever and began an explosive expansion
18into wide-area network paging, towers, and cellular phones;
19after retiring from McKeever in 1993, he began to invest his
20time and talents and treasures in other philanthropic
21opportunities; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Darrell Beck converted from Lutheranism to
2Catholicism and subsequently began his devotion to community
3service; as an active member of St. James Catholic Church, he
4became involved in the Holy Name Society, Home and School, and
5the Lay Advisory Board; he was an active volunteer at St.
6Teresa High School, where he served as President of the
7Foundation and was the "Voice of the Bulldogs", announcing home
8football games for 43 years; he and his wife directed and
9choreographed five musicals and co-chaired two major
10fundraisers at the school; he also contributed the largest
11single cash donation by an individual to the school; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Darrell Beck held leadership positions in the
13Knights of Columbus on the local, state, and national levels;
14he served as State Deputy for Illinois and was a Supreme Master
15for the 4th Degree; he served on the international Board of
16Directors in New Haven, Connecticut; he also called bingo at
17Council #577 and helped develop the Tootsie Roll Drive that
18supports the Special Olympics; he subsequently became
19President of the Board of Directors for Illinois Special
20Olympics and helped raise over $1 million for the organization;
21and
 
22    WHEREAS, Darrell Beck and his wife participated in and led
23many community service organizations, including Easter Seals,
24the YWCA, the YMCA, Millikin University, Richland Community

 

 

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1College, St. Mary's, the Newman Catholic Center, Decatur Pride,
2the Decatur Park Singers, the American Heart Association, the
3American Cancer Society, Kiwanis, Sertoma, ROMEO, and
4Summerstart, St. James, and St. Teresa Schools; he also served
5on the Board of Directors of CIB Bank, Water Island, and
6Lincoln Theatre; he was privileged to have nine audiences with
7Pope John Paul II and to have worked in Mother Teresa's soup
8kitchen; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Darrell Beck received numerous awards for his work
10in the community, including the Easter Seals Seal of Excellence
11Award, the Sertoma Man of the Year award, the Kiwanis Man of
12the Year award, the Chamber of Commerce Civic Award, and State
13of Illinois Knights of Columbus Family of the Year award; in
142001, he was the Medallion Society recipient for the 100th
15Anniversary Outstanding Alumni at Millikin University; he is
16also the Knight Grand Cross of the Equestrian Order of the Holy
17Sepulchre of Jerusalem; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Darrell Beck was preceded in death by the love of
19his life, Ursula, and his sisters, Norma Hebel and Karyn Sue
20Beck; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Darrell Beck is survived by his sons, Mark
22(Dominique), Matt (Natalie), Dan (Tunde), and Sam (Jennifer);
23his daughters, Angela (Mary), Amy Bliefnick (Ray), and Maggy

 

 

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1Pugh (Brad); his grandchildren, Ted (Rachael), Tim (Becky),
2Tommy, Christine Chandler (Nate), Stephanie Kreke (Ryan),
3Emily (Brit Miller), August, Sutton, Estelle, Lillian, Lauryn,
4and Gracey; his great-grandchildren, Deacon Bliefnick and Macy
5Miller; his sister, Donna Noel; his brother, Ed; and his many
6nieces and nephews; therefore, be it
 
7    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL
8ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
9his family and friends, the death of Darrell Wayne Beck; and be
10it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
12presented to the family of Darrell Beck as a symbol of our
13sympathy.