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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Richard Allen "Dick" Welton, former Mayor
4of Gurnee, who passed away on July 31, 2015; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Mayor Welton was born on September 6, 1942 to
6Arthur and Mary Welton; he graduated from Warren Township High
7School in 1961 and from Carthage College in 1965, later serving
8on its board; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Mayor Welton took over management
10responsibilities of the Welton's Food Mart and helped it grow
11into a 5 store chain, employing over 1000 dedicated team
12members; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Mayor Welton was appointed as a Village of Gurnee
14Trustee in 1971; 2 years later, he was elected Mayor of Gurnee
15at the age of 30, the youngest Mayor in Illinois at the time;
16he retained this position for the next 28 years and led the
17expansion of Gurnee from a small village to a thriving
18community bringing in Great America, Gurnee Mills, and
19virtually every major residential and commercial development;
20he was the first Lake County Mayor to serve as President of the
21Illinois Municipal League; he took great pride in his work with
22the Lake County Joint Action Water Agency and served as its

 

 

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1first President; he was responsible for the formation of the
2Lake County Storm Water Management Commission following the
31986 record flood in Gurnee; he was a member of the PACE board
4for past 20 years and was on the Gurnee Economic Development
5Committee; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Mayor Welton was an active member of the Gurnee
7Exchange club for over 35 years, being honored with the "Book
8of Golden Deeds" award; he was instrumental in the development
9of the Gurnee Days Corporation, the Gurnee Park District, and
10the Warren Newport Library; he worked on the "Save Great Lakes
11Naval Station" campaign; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Mayor Welton was a lifelong member of the Gurnee
13Community Church; he was elected to the Warren Township High
14School Hall of Fame in the early 1990s; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Mayor Welton was preceded in death by his parents;
16his father-in-law, Don Shannon; his brother and sister-in-law,
17Art and Lynn Welton; and his nephew, A.G. Hancock; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Mayor Welton is survived by his beloved wife,
19Debby (Shannon); his children, Natalie (Ross) Ellis, Dick
20(Maria) Welton, Jr., Stacy (Owen) Evans, Brett (Amy) Schmidt,
21and Kristan (Mike) Kolar; his grandchildren, Erika, Liam,
22Kaitlyn, Angelina, Jake, Jackson, and John; his mother-in-law,

 

 

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1Marilyn Fredrickson; his in-laws, Donna (Guy) Flaschner, Don
2(Lisa) Shannon, and Richard (Mario) Shannon; and his siblings,
3Maryann (Dr. Manooch) Sharifi, Harry (Gail) Welton, Martha
4(Marvin) Schmidt, Bill (Annette) Welton, Sara (Al) Hancock, and
5Nancy (Jim) Hayner; therefore, be it
 
6    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
7ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
8Richard Allen "Dick" Welton, and extend our sincere condolences
9to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be
10it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
12presented to the family of Mayor Welton as an expression of our
13deepest sympathy.