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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3to learn of the death of Bonnie Noble of Peoria, who passed
4away September 9, 2021; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Bonnie Noble was born to Robert M. and Laura A.
6West in River Forest on August 11, 1941; she attended Oak Park
7River Forest High School and graduated from the University of
8Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Science degree
9in Recreation and Park Administration; she married Kent A.
10Noble in River Forest on April 25, 1964; and
 
11    WHEREAS, In 1973, Bonnie Noble was the first woman elected
12as a trustee of the Peoria Park District; she served 19 years
13as a trustee and board president and 24 years as the executive
14director before her retirement in April of 2016; and
 
15    WHEREAS, As executive director, Bonnie Noble's major
16accomplishments were partnering with OSF Saint Francis Medical
17Center to build the downtown RiverPlex Recreation and Wellness
18Center, the development and completion of the Rock Island
19Trail in 2013 that included the Knoxville Avenue bridge,
20leading efforts to establish the Peoria Playhouse Children's
21Museum, and tripling the size of the Peoria Zoo by leading a
22capital campaign in 2009; by far, her greatest accomplishment

 

 

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1was the positive impact the Park District has had on hundreds
2of thousands of people; and
 
3    WHEREAS, During Bonnie Noble's tenure as executive
4director, the Peoria Park District received the National Gold
5Medal Award in 1994, 2001, and 2010 for excellence in park and
6recreation management and earned accreditation as one of the
7first Illinois Distinguished Park Districts; and
 
8    WHEREAS, In 2004, Bonnie Noble was inducted as a fellow
9into the American Academy for Parks and Recreation, a national
10group limited to 125 practicing professionals; she received
11the Joseph Bannon Practitioner Award, the Jaycees Good
12Government Award, the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce Athena
13Award, and the Ray A. Neumann Tri-County Citizen of the Year
14Award, among others; in 2013, the Peoria Park District Board
15of Trustees honored her by naming their new administration
16offices the "Bonnie W. Noble Center for Park District
17Administration"; she was also the recipient of the Charles K.
18Brightbill Distinguished Alumni Award, which is awarded
19annually by the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism at
20the University of Illinois; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Bonnie Noble is survived by her husband; her
22three daughters, Cindy (Shannon) Noble, Kristen (Darin)
23LaHood, and Jamie (Dan) Hogan; her five cherished grandsons,

 

 

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1McKay, Lucas, and Theodore LaHood and Maxwell and Thatcher
2Hogan; and her brother, Robert C. West; therefore, be it
 
3    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
4ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
5Bonnie Noble and extend our sincere condolences to her family,
6friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
8presented to the family of Bonnie Noble as an expression of our
9deepest sympathy.