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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate were saddened
3 to learn of the death of Marine PFC Geoffrey S. Morris on April
4 4, 2004, in combat with enemy forces near the towns of Fallujah
5 and Ramadi in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq; and
 
6     WHEREAS, PFC Morris was with the weapons company of the 2nd
7 Battalion, 4th Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine
8 Expeditionary Force; and
 
9     WHEREAS, PFC Morris grew up in Gurnee, the big brother of
10 five other siblings; he played football at the Warren Township
11 Center and local high school for eight years; and
 
12     WHEREAS, He enlisted in the Marine Corps in his last year
13 of high school and began his training soon after graduation in
14 2003; he was last stationed at Camp Pendleton before being
15 deployed to Iraq on February 15, 2004; and
 
16     WHEREAS, PFC Morris was a man of deep conviction and
17 passion for God, his country, and the Marine Corps; his
18 commitment to the mission of bringing peace and stability to
19 the Iraqi people and the region was unwavering; even at his
20 young age, he was able to embody the spirit of the Marine
21 Corps, being faithful always to his family, his friends, and
22 his country; and
 
23     WHEREAS, PFC Morris loved to hunt pheasants, geese and
24 ducks, and fish for salmon and trout on Lake Michigan with his
25 father and friends; he felt fulfilled when playing paintball in
26 the backyard with his buddies; he was most content teaching
27 chess, playing games and entertaining younger kids, and had
28 built some relationships with local Iraqi children; and
 
29     WHEREAS, The passing of PFC Geoffrey S. Morris will be

 

 

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1 deeply felt by many, especially his father, Kirk S. and devoted
2 second mother, Vickie (Vander Werff, Bisk); his siblings,
3 Jennifer, Lauren, Taylor, Austin, and little Dylan; his
4 grandparents, Ralph W. Morris, Virginia Balmes, and Gary L.,
5 and Jane Hein; his uncles, Doug and Gary Hein; his grandmother,
6 Helen Lundstrom; his uncles, Christopher Morris, Timothy
7 Morris, and Todd Woods; and his aunt, Melissa Barrett; and
 
8     WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his mother, Leslie
9 Marie (nee Hein) Morris; therefore, be it
 
10     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL
11 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
12 Marine PFC Geoffrey S. Morris along with all who knew and loved
13 him and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends,
14 and community; and be it further
 
15     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
16 presented to the family of Marine PFC Geoffrey S. Morris as a
17 token of our deepest sympathy.