HR0611 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0611 LRB093 15378 KEF 40980 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives were saddened to learn of the death of Rev. Dean P. Rice of Chicago on December 14, 2003; and

WHEREAS, Father Rice's 45-year tenure as rector of The Church of the Atonement set the record for the longest-held post in the Chicago Episcopal Diocese; and

WHEREAS, Father Rice was born in 1932 to a Methodist family in Danville; he graduated from Georgetown High School in 1950; three years later, he received a bachelor's degree from Millikin University in Decatur; and

WHEREAS, He received a master of divinity degree from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, an Episcopal seminary in Evanston in 1956; in 1958, he was installed as rector of The Episcopal Church of the Atonement, where he stayed until June of this year; and

WHEREAS, In the 1970s, when the church's Hispanic congregation began to grow, Father Rice helped establish The Parent-Child Latino Center, which offered social services with an emphasis on education; and

WHEREAS, Out of this ministry grew St. Augustine's College, which moved out of the church in 1979, the same year the Hispanic congregation formed the Mission of Cristo Rey; Father Rice served on St. Augustine's governing board from 1980 to 1988; and

WHEREAS, Father Rice was a board member and part owner of Paxton Wholesale Grocery Co., a family-owned business in southern Illinois; he also traveled extensively and boasted a collection of crystal; and

WHEREAS, The passing of Father Rice will be deeply felt by many, especially his niece, Nanette Rice Mellen; and his nephew, James M. Rice; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Rev. Dean P. Rice along with all who knew and loved him and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and community; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Rev. Dean P. Rice as an expression of our deepest sympathy.