SR0698 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0698 LRB098 14824 MST 49777 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Melba Colleen (nee Brush) Ripper of Canton, who passed away on November 4, 2013; and

WHEREAS, Melba Ripper was born on December 30, 1935 to Carl and Josephine (nee Dowell) Brush; and

WHEREAS, Melba Ripper used the skills she learned at Brown's Business College in Peoria, now Midstate College, to help her husband run the family farm outside of Canton; she served on the county's Insurance Committee and represented Fulton County on the Governmental Inter-Insurance Exchange (GIE) in Bloomington and served as the Chairman of its Advisory Board; and

WHEREAS, Melba Ripper was a lifelong member of the Democratic Party; she represented District 3 on the Fulton County Board from 1976 to 1996, serving as Chair for 10 of those years; she was the first woman Chair for Fulton County and only the second female in the State to hold such a position; in the early 1970s, she and her husband formed the Fulton County Citizens for Better Health and Environment to provide a voice for the citizens when the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago entered Fulton County; and

WHEREAS, Melba Ripper was a member of the United City Council of Illinois and served as Chairman for 2 years; she also served on the boards of the Fulton Mason Crisis Service, where she was also Treasurer, and as President with UPIC; in 1990, she was recognized as one of the Young Women's Christian Association's "Women of Achievement" for her political and community contributions; and

WHEREAS, Melba Ripper was a volunteer at the Fulton County Health Department and was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Canton, where she held a number of positions, including financial secretary and congregational president; she was a member of the Fulton County Sewing Guild; and

WHEREAS, Melba Ripper was preceded in death by her parents; and

WHEREAS, Melba Ripper is survived by her sister, Joyce (nee Brush) Elston; her brother, Jerry (Judy) Brush; her husband, William J. Ripper; her daughter, Joanne Ripper; her sons, Jim (Jackie) Ripper and Joel (Darinda) Ripper; her grandchildren, Haley Aubrey, Jonathan Ripper, Jason Ripper, and Adam Ripper; many great-nephews and nieces; and a whole community of friends and colleagues; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Melba Colleen Ripper, and extend our sincere condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Melba Ripper as an expression of our deepest sympathy.