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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3to learn of the death of Betty "BJ" Thetford of Metamora,
4formerly of Washington, who passed away on January 10, 2021;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, BJ Thetford was born in Louisville, Kentucky to
7Clarence Harder and Hazel (Bradshaw) Harder on December 27,
81931; she graduated from Woodruff High School in 1949, where
9she belonged to the choir; she later attended Midstate College
10to further hone her executive secretarial skills; she married
11Gentry Cain Thetford in Peoria on March 18, 1951, and he
12preceded her in death on February 8, 2013; and
 
13    WHEREAS, BJ Thetford was employed for the majority of her
14career at Caterpillar; she began in the secretarial pool at
15Caterpillar and worked in a number of positions; she left
16Caterpillar only briefly to be reunited with Dr. Asbury, who
17left as Caterpillar's medical director to become the medical
18director for Proctor Hospital; she was devoted to her work and
19enjoyed working for former Director of Public Affairs Byron
20DeHaan and working with Steve Newhouse on the Caterpillar
21Annual Report in the 1980s; after over 35 years, she retired
22from the Personnel department of Caterpillar in 1993; during
23her career, she belonged to Peoria's chapter of the National

 

 

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1Secretaries Association, where she served as a speaker and an
2officer; she was an outstanding secretary and communicator,
3and she was fiercely loyal to her superiors as well as her
4coworkers; and
 
5    WHEREAS, BJ Thetford was a former member of Sunnyland
6Christian Church before becoming a member at First Christian
7Church in Peoria, where she served as a deacon and was a choir
8member at both; she was a woman of many talents and was a
9wonderful cook, seamstress, artist, and singer; she was in
10barbershop quartets with her brother as a young adult; she was
11a soloist for weddings and funerals; she was the former member
12of a trio, consisting of Helen Manier, Norma Hoffmire, and
13herself, from Sunnyland who sang at numerous events for a
14number of years; she was later a member of the ECCU Keys with
15her good friend Kay Sharp from Sunnyland, and they performed
16at various churches and venues over the years while she also
17served as the MC and comedienne between musical numbers; she
18became a member of the Snyder Village Gospel Choir after she
19moved to Snyder Village in 2010; and
 
20    WHEREAS, BJ Thetford firmly believed her children were her
21greatest achievement, and she was known for her constant love
22and support she gave her family; she will be deeply missed; and
 
23    WHEREAS, BJ Thetford was preceded in death by her husband;

 

 

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1her parents; and her brother, Elroy Harder; and
 
2    WHEREAS, BJ Thetford is survived by her children, Gale
3Thetford, Donn Thetford, and Sheri (Robert) Perkins; her
4grandsons, Nathan (Allison) Tonnies, Stuart Schmadeke (Lauren
5Howard), Derek (Jessie) Thetford, Taylor Perkins, and Aaron
6(Elsa) Perkins; her great-grandchildren, Tyler Mollman and
7Hazel Tonnies; her sister, Caren (Dick) Lobo; her stepmother,
8Alice Harder Ragan; and her nephew, Michael (Jamie) Harder;
9therefore, be it
 
10    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
11ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
12Betty "BJ" Thetford and extend our sincere condolences to her
13family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it
14further
 
15    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
16presented to the family of BJ Thetford as an expression of our
17deepest sympathy.