Full Text of SR1192 102nd General Assembly
SR1192 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | 3 | | to learn of the death of Gerald Mack "Andy" Anderson, who | 4 | | passed away on August 23, 2022; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Andy Anderson was born in Cass County to Roscoe | 6 | | "Jack" Phineas and Virgie Lena (McHenry) Anderson on December | 7 | | 2, 1922; he graduated from Petersburg Harris High School in | 8 | | 1940, where he excelled in multiple sports; he entered the | 9 | | Rossiter Baseball School, and in 1941 and 1942, he played | 10 | | minor league baseball with the Springfield Brownies; during | 11 | | this time, he also worked at the Allis Chalmers Manufacturing | 12 | | Plant and later at Pillsbury Mills in Springfield; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Andy Anderson was drafted into the U.S. Army in | 14 | | January of 1943; he arrived in Casablanca, North Africa and | 15 | | joined the "Big Red One" (1st Infantry Division); he was | 16 | | assigned to the demolition squad and fought in Sicily; on June | 17 | | 6, 1944, his unit stormed Omaha Beach; after being wounded in | 18 | | France, he rejoined his platoon, which successfully held the | 19 | | northern flank in the Battle of the Bulge, where he was wounded | 20 | | a second time; he was with his unit until shortly after V-E | 21 | | Day; he was discharged in 1945 and returned home; he was | 22 | | decorated with two Bronze Star Medals, two Purple Heart | 23 | | Medals, and a Bronze Service Arrowhead; in February of 2014 in |
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| 1 | | Raleigh, North Carolina, he was one of the World War II | 2 | | veterans presented with the Legion of Merit Medal, which is | 3 | | France's highest military honor; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, After his service, Andy Anderson returned to | 5 | | playing baseball in the minor leagues and working at Pillsbury | 6 | | Mills; he became the head coach of the Oakford Farmerettes, a | 7 | | female semi-pro basketball team comprised of young women from | 8 | | Oakford; he frequently commented on how proud he was to be | 9 | | involved with coaching these incredible ladies from Oakford, | 10 | | including two of his own sisters, who won an AAU State | 11 | | Championship every year they competed; he was also contracted | 12 | | as a professional umpire for the Georgia-Florida baseball | 13 | | league; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Andy Anderson returned to Oakford in 1949 and | 15 | | married the love of his life, Ethel Josephine Elan Hillman, a | 16 | | nursing student from Meadville, Pennsylvania; they had met | 17 | | just twice while he was on liberty in 1943, prior to being | 18 | | deployed overseas; he carried Josephine's picture with him and | 19 | | corresponded with her throughout his time overseas; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Andy Anderson started with the United States Post | 21 | | Office as a clerk in Springfield in 1958, and he and Josephine | 22 | | bought a house in Jerome; he became active in the United | 23 | | Federation of Postal Clerks and held positions at the local, |
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| 1 | | state, and regional levels; in his spare time, he also | 2 | | successfully ran Handy Andy's Tree Service; he campaigned | 3 | | successfully for an elected position with the national | 4 | | American Postal Workers' Union (APWU) and moved to the | 5 | | Washington, D.C. area; he was very skilled in mediation and | 6 | | arbitration and traveled around the country resolving disputes | 7 | | involving union members until 1985; he served as the assistant | 8 | | director of the APWU until his retirement in 1986; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Andy Anderson and Josephine built a home in | 10 | | Pinehurst, North Carolina, where he held a golf membership and | 11 | | pursued his love of golf full time, playing the Pinehurst | 12 | | courses with various groups four to five days a week; after the | 13 | | passing of his wife, he remained in Pinehurst, staying active | 14 | | on the golf course, participating in Veterans' Day parades, | 15 | | having breakfast with the "Dirty Dozen" at Mac's restaurant, | 16 | | and hosting annual birthday parties at Beefeaters until the | 17 | | fall of 2019 when he moved back to Springfield; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Andy Anderson faithfully attended the Big Red One | 19 | | reunions, postal union conventions, the Normandy D-Day | 20 | | anniversaries, and special events in Springfield and Oakford; | 21 | | he established an annual nursing scholarship for a PORTA high | 22 | | school senior, in memory of Josephine; he is the only person | 23 | | who has twice been inducted into the PORTA High School Hall of | 24 | | Fame; in April of 1922, he was honored by the Clinton Lodge #19 |
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| 1 | | A.F. & A.M. in Petersburg for 75 years of membership; he was | 2 | | generous to numerous charities, and his memory of how | 3 | | difficult times were in the Great Depression seemed to propel | 4 | | his generosity toward others throughout his life; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Andy Anderson was enthusiastic about educating | 6 | | successive generations about the sacrifices made by those who | 7 | | never came home from World War II; he passed an incredible | 8 | | legacy on to more than 40 of his family members when he | 9 | | generously paid for them to take an amazing 10-day trip to | 10 | | Europe with him, to visit the battle sites and learn about | 11 | | World War II; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Andy Anderson was preceded in death by his wife | 13 | | of 53 years, Josephine; his parents; his sisters, Lucille | 14 | | (Paul "Ham") Lutes, Roberta (Donald) Stroh, Esther (Gilbert) | 15 | | Fricke, and Phyllis Leinberger; his brothers, Randall Paul, | 16 | | Roscoe Arthur "Art" (Jackie), and Eugene "Bugeye" Anderson; | 17 | | his niece, Linda Horn; and his nephew, Bret Leinberger; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Andy Anderson is survived by his sister, Virginia | 19 | | (Otto, deceased) Winkelmann; his sister-in-law, Glenda | 20 | | (Eugene, deceased) (Bohm) Anderson; his brother, Robert "Bob" | 21 | | (Wanda, deceased) Anderson; his nieces, Deann Shelabarger, | 22 | | Brenda Vost, Lana (Ted) Grothe, Sandra (Robert) Newman, Carol | 23 | | (Kris) Blake, Beverly Leinberger, Rhonda Davis, Lisa (Fred |
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| 1 | | Zar) Anderson, Gina (Phil) Nottingham, Barbara Rebbe, Amy | 2 | | (Charlie) Todd, and Brenda (Kenny) White; his nephews, Andy | 3 | | (Susie) Winkelmann, Tracy (Judy) Anderson, Bart (Rhonda) | 4 | | Leinberger, Allan (Shirley) Anderson, Dan Fricke, and Greg | 5 | | (Amanda) Anderson; and several great-nieces and great-nephews; | 6 | | therefore, be it
| 7 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 8 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 9 | | Gerald Mack "Andy" Anderson and extend our sincere condolences | 10 | | to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be | 11 | | it further
| 12 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 13 | | presented to the family of Andy Anderson as an expression of | 14 | | our deepest sympathy.
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