Full Text of SR1854 100th General Assembly
SR1854 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the deaths of John R. and Reta A. Dowling of Watseka, | 4 | | who both passed away on June 17, 2018; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, John Dowling was born in Murrayville to John W. | 6 | | and Hattie Mae (Cooper) Dowling on August 20, 1933; Reta | 7 | | Dowling was born in Danville to Myron R. and Blanche H. | 8 | | (McGahan) Miller on January 6, 1934; John served in the United | 9 | | States Army Reserve during the Korean War; he and Rita were | 10 | | married in Danville on January 28, 1955; John received his | 11 | | Bachelor of Science in History from Eastern Illinois University | 12 | | and his Master of Science in Educational Administration from | 13 | | Illinois State University; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, John Dowling started teaching and coaching in | 15 | | Armstrong in 1955; he then continued at Crescent-Iroquois High | 16 | | School from 1959 to 1963; in 1963, he joined the Watseka High | 17 | | School teaching staff, where he also served as principal for 12 | 18 | | years, ending in 1984; he then became the grade school | 19 | | principal at both Wanda Kendall and Nettie Davis elementary | 20 | | schools; he also served as acting superintendent for a short | 21 | | time; he was awarded Iroquois County Teacher of the Year in | 22 | | 1968; he was an active member of the IHSA Board of Directors, | 23 | | where he was a past-president; he was also a member of the |
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| 1 | | Iroquois County Board and served as the Middleport Township | 2 | | Supervisor; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Reta Dowling started teaching in Bismarck Grade | 4 | | School, and later at Crescent City Grade School and Glenn | 5 | | Raymond Junior High School; she graduated from Illinois State | 6 | | University in 1969 with her Bachelor of Science in Education | 7 | | and started in the art department at Watseka Community High | 8 | | School that same year; she also co-owned and taught at the Pied | 9 | | Piper and Building Blocks Preschool; she went on to teach 4-H | 10 | | students for many years; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, John Dowling served as an Iroquois County | 12 | | Republican Precinct Committeeman and with the Ford-Iroquois | 13 | | Board of Health, the Watseka Library Board, and the I-KAN Joint | 14 | | Education Committee; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Reta Dowling served as president of the Iroquois | 16 | | Memorial Hospital Auxiliary and was also a member of the boards | 17 | | for the Iroquois Mental Health Association, the Watseka Bridge | 18 | | Club, and the Iroquois County Republican Women; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, John Dowling was awarded Watseka Area Citizen of | 20 | | the Year in 1989; he was a frequent volunteer at Iroquois | 21 | | Memorial Hospital and helped organize the annual hospice brunch | 22 | | for many years; he was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement |
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| 1 | | Award from the Watseka community; he was a member of the | 2 | | Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, John Dowling enjoyed history and was a lifelong | 4 | | St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan; he had a love for baseball, | 5 | | starting with being a batboy for the Dodgers minor league team | 6 | | in Danville; he authored a book on the history of the Three-I | 7 | | League, which is in the library of the Baseball Hall of Fame in | 8 | | Cooperstown, New York; talking baseball and being an advocate | 9 | | for Iroquois County and Watseka were some of his greatest | 10 | | passions; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Reta Dowling enjoyed ceramics and was a | 12 | | watercolorist; she was a former Iroquois County 4-H judge and | 13 | | was a blue ribbon winner for her angel food cakes; she was | 14 | | always taking on a new project, whether it was framing pictures | 15 | | for friends, making pies for the Gooseberry Festival, or | 16 | | immersing herself in her grandchildren's latest school | 17 | | project; she was the official costume maker for all of her | 18 | | children and grandchildren, and inspired them all to bring | 19 | | creativity into their lives; Reta also sang with the Iroquois | 20 | | County Cantata Choir; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, John and Reta Dowling were active members of the | 22 | | First Presbyterian Church in Watseka; they traveled all over | 23 | | the world, usually with friends and family and always made new |
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| 1 | | friends along the way; St. Louis Cardinals spring training was | 2 | | one of their favorite places; they were both avid readers and | 3 | | loved spending time with their grandchildren, playing games | 4 | | with them and attending their activities; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, John Dowling was preceded in death by his parents; | 6 | | Reta Dowling was preceded in death by her parents and her | 7 | | brother, Fred Miller; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, John and Reta Dowling are survived by their sons, | 9 | | Michael (Kathy) Dowling, David (Kathy) Dowling, and Robert | 10 | | (Kary) Dowling; their grandchildren, William Dowling, Laura | 11 | | Dowling, Chris Dowling, Elizabeth Dowling, Kelsey Dowling, | 12 | | Jori Dowling, and Mason Dowling; and their nieces, Susan | 13 | | (Miller) Bruner and Sonja Miller; therefore, be it
| 14 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | 15 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 16 | | John R. and Reta A. Dowling, and extend our sincere condolences | 17 | | to their family, friends, and all who knew and loved them; and | 18 | | be it further
| 19 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 20 | | presented to the family of John and Reta Dowling as an | 21 | | expression of our deepest sympathy.
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