SR2030LRB100 22211 MST 40778 r

1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Charles "Chuck" Raymond Dressel of River
4Forest, who passed away on January 22, 2018; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Chuck Dressel was born in Oak Park to Raymond and
6Blanche Dressel on September 11, 1949, the oldest of four
7siblings; he attended Grace Lutheran School and became an
8accomplished athlete in football, wrestling, and track & field
9at Oak Park and River Forest High School, where he was named
10the school's 1967 Athlete of the Year; and
 
11    WHEREAS, As a senior, Chuck Dressel was honored as an
12all-star football athlete by the Chicago Tribune and received
13the Knute Rockne Award, bestowed by the University of Notre
14Dame; he was also a standout three-sport athlete at Princeton
15University; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Chuck Dressel graduated from Princeton University
17in 1971; he returned home to assist his father with managing
18the Dressel Family Hardware Store started by his grandfather in
191923, which remains one of Oak Park's oldest businesses; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Chuck Dressel met Jan Novak in 1976 when she
21wandered into his store as a customer; they married soon after

 

 

SR2030- 2 -LRB100 22211 MST 40778 r

1and purchased a home a few blocks from the store where they
2raised three children and became active in the local sports
3community, coaching youth teams and fundraising for the OPRF
4Huskie Booster Club; Chuck was instrumental in securing the
5funding to construct the Keystone Park batting cages, procuring
6additional fields across from the high school, and lighting the
7football stadium; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Chuck Dressel practiced softball pitching with
9his daughters for hours on end, devotedly dragging gear and
10equipment on every family vacation; he was especially keen on
11passing on his love of wrestling and football to his only son,
12Blake, where they were fixtures in the Little Huskies Wrestling
13Club and youth football program; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Chuck Dressel's daughter, Emily, shared "He was a
15rare lover of lima beans, an accomplished baritone shower
16singer, and suffered from abysmal penmanship."; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Chuck Dressel is remembered for his exuberance
18during snowfalls as customers filed into the store to stock up
19on winter merchandise; he jokingly proclaimed that dandelions
20were his favorite flower, given that he was the town's local
21purveyor of weed killer; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Chuck Dressel, despite compromised physical

 

 

SR2030- 3 -LRB100 22211 MST 40778 r

1mobility in his later years, adored interacting with his four
2grandchildren, one of whom is currently learning the sport of
3wrestling; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Chuck Dressel is survived by his wife, Jan Novak
5Dressel; his children, Emily (Brad) Hampson, Amy (Bryan)
6Pritchard, and Blake Dressel; his grandchildren, Brady,
7Bridget, Jack, and Grace; his siblings, Beth Ann, Bob (Nora),
8and Todd (Erin); and several nieces and nephews; therefore, be
9it
 
10    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL
11ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
12Charles "Chuck" Raymond Dressel, and extend our sincere
13condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved
14him; and be it further
 
15    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
16presented to the family of Chuck Dressel as an expression of
17our deepest sympathy.