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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Bruce Edward Saurs of East Peoria, who
4passed away on July 10, 2014; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Bruce Saurs was born on July 9, 1926 in Peoria to
6Edward and Gertrude Marie (nee Ambrose) Saurs; he graduated
7from Peoria High School in 1944 and Bradley University in 1949,
8where he was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity; he served in
9the United States Army Air Forces from 1945 to 1946, stationed
10in Wiesbaden, Germany; he also served in the Illinois Air
11National Guard, 169th Fighter Squadron from 1951 to 1954; he
12married Norma Bloom on October 17, 1952; after her passing he
13married Mary Whitman on June 10, 1999; after her passing he
14married Rebecca Williams on June 16, 2012; and
 
15    WHEREAS, While still a student at Bradley University, Bruce
16Saurs coached Peoria's Lee Grade School to 4 city basketball
17titles against much larger schools; in 1951, he helped
18establish the first Little League Baseball program in Peoria,
19and, in 1955, he acted as a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates
20and was responsible for them signing Peoria's own Leon Hurst;
21and
 
22    WHEREAS, For 6 years, starting in 1949, Bruce Saurs was a

 

 

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1teacher at Peoria High School, where he also was an assistant
2basketball coach and head baseball coach; he entered the
3automobile industry in 1956 as a salesman, and by 1961, had
4worked his way up to general sales manager; in 1963, he went to
5work for Lynn Velde and became a partner in Velde Ford in 1965;
6they purchased Arnold Ford in Vero Beach, Florida in 1976; the
7partners started Velde Lincoln Volvo of Peoria in 1984, which
8was followed by Velde Cadillac Buick GMC in 1987; Bruce later
9opened the Corner Store on Main Street and Bruce Saurs' Black
10Rabbit bar, both in Downtown Peoria; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Bruce Saurs saved professional hockey in Peoria
12not once but twice, starting in 1989 with his purchase of the
13Rivermen from the city of Peoria; in 1996, he and a partner
14started an International Hockey League (IHL) franchise in San
15Antonio, Texas; both were manifestations of his lifelong love
16of athletics; he owned 2 professional hockey teams in 4
17different leagues over 20 years; the Rivermen won the IHL's
18Turner Cup in 1991, along the way setting a professional hockey
19record with 18 consecutive wins; the Rivermen also earned an
20East Coast Hockey League title in 2000; the Peoria Rivermen
21player who exemplifies commitment and leadership both on and
22off the ice now receives the Bruce E. Saurs Leadership Award,
23and each Rivermen home opener is designated Bruce Saurs Hockey
24Night; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Among his many honors, Bruce Saurs was a recipient
2of the Neve Harms Meritorious Service to Sports Award and the
3United Cerebral Palsy Community Service Award, and he was
4inducted into the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame in 1996;
5he was a recipient of Bradley's Distinguished Alumnus Award and
6was named to the university's elite Centurion Society; he
7chaired the Salvation Army's Tree of Lights campaign, and he
8was grand marshal of Peoria's 2013 Santa Claus Parade; he was
9also a member of the Pekin and Mount Hawley country clubs and
10the Country Club of Peoria; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Bruce Saurs was preceded in death by his first
12wife, Norma, and by his second wife, Mary; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Bruce Saurs is survived by his wife, Rebecca; his
14sons, Michael Saurs, Tim (Lori) Saurs, and Scott (Suzette)
15Saurs; his grandchildren, Lynzie (Luke) Gruden, Stacie (Mike)
16Swingle, and Ryan (fiancee, Tara Kulkarni) Saurs; his
17great-grandchildren, Brady, Owen, and Gibby Gruden and Selah
18and Maya Swingle; his 2 stepsons, Brian (Elizabeth) Morris and
19Jason (Catherine) Morris; his step-grandchildren, Levi,
20Adeline, and James Morris; and his beloved dog, Coco;
21therefore, be it
 
22    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL
23ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of

 

 

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1Bruce Edward Saurs, and extend our sincere condolences to his
2family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
3further
 
4    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
5presented to the family of Bruce Saurs as an expression of our
6deepest sympathy.