Full Text of SR1615 99th General Assembly
SR1615 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of Plessa Edward Mast of Urbana, who passed | 4 | | away on February 19, 2016; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Edward Mast was born in Bourbon, Indiana to Plessa | 6 | | L. and Vada Mae Mast on October 18, 1926; he lived in | 7 | | Churubusco and Nappanee, Indiana before moving to Peru, | 8 | | Indiana; he graduated from Peru High School in 1944 and started | 9 | | college at Purdue University the same year; after being | 10 | | drafted, he enlisted in the United States Navy as an | 11 | | electronics technician's mate in the fall of 1945, during World | 12 | | War II; he married Phyllis Oury in 1947; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, In 1946, Edward Mast volunteered to serve on the | 14 | | USS Appalachian, a communications ship that was at the Bikini | 15 | | Atoll atomic bomb tests; he returned to complete his | 16 | | undergraduate and master's degrees in electrical engineering | 17 | | at Purdue University; after a brief stint as an engineer for | 18 | | the Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. in Akron, Ohio, he joined the | 19 | | University of Illinois in 1952, starting a continuous | 20 | | association with the U of I by Edward, his children, and his | 21 | | grandchildren that lasted for 64 years to date; he received a | 22 | | Doctor in Electrical Engineering in 1958, and he remained at | 23 | | the U of I for his entire career as a professor of electrical |
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| 1 | | engineering, becoming associate head of the Electrical | 2 | | Engineering Department in 1985, before retiring in 1987; in | 3 | | addition to his work at the U of I, he worked many summers for | 4 | | aerospace companies in Southern California, where he designed | 5 | | antennas for spacecraft and missiles, with a particular focus | 6 | | on electromagnetic propagation of radio frequency signals | 7 | | during spacecraft re-entry; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Edward Mast was an Eagle Scout, and all 6 of his | 9 | | sons and 7 of his grandsons are Eagle Scouts; when he gave a | 10 | | presentation at the Eagle Scout ceremony for his grandchildren, | 11 | | he remembered his experience getting a camping merit badge when | 12 | | he rode his bicycle to the woods, and stayed alone overnight | 13 | | with a gun for protection from animals; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Edward Mast built a car for the Great American | 15 | | Soapbox Derby in 1937, and his love for cars continued | 16 | | throughout his life; he learned to fix all the cars he owned | 17 | | through the years and he was a longstanding member of Illini | 18 | | Collector Car Club; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Edward Mast was proud of his Amish-Mennonite | 20 | | heritage and did extensive genealogy research, including | 21 | | tracing the immigration of his fourth great-grandfather, Jacob | 22 | | Mast, from Switzerland to Pennsylvania on the Charming Nancy in | 23 | | 1737 and identifying his eighth great-grandfather, Benedict |
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| 1 | | Mast, who was born in Guggisberg, Canton Bern, Switzerland, in | 2 | | about 1570; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Edward Mast enjoyed spending time with his | 4 | | grandchildren, playing games, showing them his model train | 5 | | sets, and making them his hot chocolate with whipped cream; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Edward Mast was preceded in death by his parents | 7 | | and his sisters, Jane and Mary Etta; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Edward Mast is survived by his wife of 68 years, | 9 | | Phyllis; his 7 children, Philip (Katy), Kim (Cindy), Eric | 10 | | (Jill), Dan (Laura), Anne (John), Alan (Lynne), and Jeffery | 11 | | (Kristin); his 22 grandchildren; his 4 great-grandchildren; | 12 | | his brother, Paul Mast; and many extended family and cherished | 13 | | friends; therefore, be it
| 14 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | 15 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 16 | | Plessa Edward Mast, and extend our sincere condolences to his | 17 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 18 | | further
| 19 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 20 | | presented to the family of Edward Mast as an expression of our | 21 | | deepest sympathy.
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