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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel
4Peter J. Burns, Jr. of Phoenix, Arizona, formerly of Moline,
5who passed away on September 2, 2015; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Lt. Col. Burns was born in Englewood, New Jersey
7on January 12, 1928 to Peter J. and Alice Corriston Burns; he
8graduated in 1947 from Cliffside Park High School, where he
9served on the student council, played football, and was
10selected as the "Best Looking Guy"; he graduated with a
11bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska in Omaha; he
12married Harriet F. Schmidt on March 10, 1951 in Riverside
13Church in New York City; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Lt. Col. Burns joined the United States Army in
151949; he retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1979 after 30
16years; during his time in the Army, he served in the Korean and
17Vietnam Wars and had assignments around the world; he received
18the Purple Heart in 1966; he spent the last 7 years of his
19military career at the Rock Island Arsenal with 5 years as an
20inspector general at the U.S. Army Armament Readiness Command
21and a final 2 as the Rock Island Arsenal's deputy commander;
22upon retiring from the Army, he worked 12 years as a facilities
23manager for the First National Bank of the Quad Cities,

 

 

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1overseeing the construction of 5 branch banks and the
2installation of the first ATMs; he retired in 1991 to focus on
3community service; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Lt. Col. Burns was a member of the Rock Island
5Arsenal Golf Club, the Milan Rifle Club, Rock Island Veterans
6of Foreign Wars Post 1303, Moline American Legion Post 246,
7Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 299, the Moline Elks, the
8Rock Island and Moline Conservation Clubs, and Ducks Unlimited;
9he was an Illinois hunter safety instructor, past board member
10and vice-president of the Quad Cities Conservation Alliance,
11and former member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Moline;
12and
 
13    WHEREAS, Lt. Col. Burns was preceded in death by his wife,
14Harriet; his parents; his sister and brother-in-law, Ann Carol
15and Frank Rogers; and his sister-in-law, Anne; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Lt. Col. Burns is survived by his children, Pamela
17Burns (Stephen) Yeamans and Peter J. Burns III; his
18grandchildren, Michael Z. Burns, Sloan Burns Smith, and Lizette
19Burns Smith; his sister, Mary Alice "Mickey" (James) Damurjian;
20and his brother, Robert T. (Nancy) Burns; therefore, be it
 
21    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
22ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of

 

 

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1Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Peter J. Burns, Jr., and
2extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all
3who knew and loved him; and be it further
 
4    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
5presented to the family of Lt. Col. Burns as an expression of
6our deepest sympathy.