SR1086 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1086 LRB102 28171 LAW 39979 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of former Illinois State Representative Suzanne L. Deuchler of Aurora; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Deuchler was born to Elvin and Margaret Clark in Chicago on July 21, 1929; she grew up in Shelbyville; she married Walter Deuchler on February 4, 1951; she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the University of Illinois in 1951 and later studied at the Dayton Art Institute; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Deuchler served as the Republican state representative of the 42nd district in the General Assembly from 1981 to 1999; she had previously served as a representative of the West Side of Aurora on the Kane County Board for four years; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Deuchler was first elected to the General Assembly in 1980, beating an 80-year-old incumbent of 16 years, Al Schoeberlein; during her 18-year tenure, she served on the Education, Appropriations, Banking, Transportation, and Environment committees in the Illinois House of Representatives; she was known for her support of women's issues, including abortion rights and the Equal Rights Amendment, and for supporting environmental issues, being instrumental in establishing the Nelson Lake Nature Preserve in Kane County; she was also a supporter of education initiatives, and she was one of the representatives instrumental in establishing the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora and the Orchard Road interchange with Interstate 88, which was later renamed the Suzanne Deuchler Honorary Interchange in 2018; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Deuchler served as president of the local chapter of the League of Women Voters and on many nonprofit boards, including the Aurora Historical Society, the Rush Copley Medical Center Governing Board, SciTech, and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Kane-South, DeKalb, and Kendall Counties (NAMI KDK); she was a longtime member of the American Association of University Women; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Deuchler was a world traveler, a talented watercolorist, and a mother of two; she will be remembered for her bright smile and her many accomplishments; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Deuchler is survived by her husband of 71 years, Walter Deuchler; her sister, Nancy Clark Amstutz; her daughter, Maryll (Tom) Moon; her granddaughters, Erika Kleibrink and Claudia Moon; her nieces, Betsy (Donald) Flett and Kathy Finn; and her nephews, Edward (Robyn Weinstein) Bettenhausen and Kenneth (Jean) Bettenhausen; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of former Illinois State Representative Suzanne L. Deuchler and extend our sincere condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Rep. Deuchler as an expression of our deepest sympathy.