Full Text of SR2297 99th General Assembly
SR2297 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 Rev. Dr. Steven Robert Shoemaker, who | 4 | | passed away on October 10, 2016 at the age of 73; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Steven Shoemaker was born and raised in Urbana; he | 6 | | played trombone and basketball at Urbana High School and | 7 | | attended Wheaton College, where he participated in pranks, such | 8 | | as padlocking the chapel doors before a service; after becoming | 9 | | more serious about his studies, he earned a Master of Divinity | 10 | | degree and Master of Sacred Theology degree in 1969 from | 11 | | McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago; he later earned a | 12 | | Ph.D. in religion from Duke University in 1979; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Steven Shoemaker served as pastor at Pittsboro and | 14 | | Mount Vernon Springs Presbyterian churches in Pittsboro, North | 15 | | Carolina; he served as campus pastor at North Carolina State | 16 | | University and as pastor at McKinley Presbyterian Church in | 17 | | Champaign; he finished his career as director of the University | 18 | | YMCA at the University of Illinois; he also taught one course a | 19 | | semester in religious studies at either Parkland College or the | 20 | | University of Illinois; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Steven Shoemaker served as chair of the Committee | 22 | | for the Homeless, co-chair of the Men's Emergency Shelter |
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| 1 | | Steering Committee, member of the Dr. Martin Luther King | 2 | | Committee, member of the Muslim Committee, and member of the | 3 | | Champaign County Board, the United Way Board, and the local | 4 | | ACLU Board; he was also an active Urbana Rotary Club member | 5 | | since 1982 and acted as president in 2013; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Steven Shoemaker had a passion for writing, | 7 | | particularly poetry; he was nominated to be Illinois Poet | 8 | | Laureate in 2003 and was published in a plethora of journals | 9 | | ranging from Christian ministry to Judaism; after his cancer | 10 | | diagnosis, he published his first book, titled "A Sin A Week", | 11 | | and received thousands of Likes for poems posted through social | 12 | | media; he also reached out to the community through his weekly | 13 | | radio program, "Keepin' The Faith", on WILL AM 580, which | 14 | | provided interviews and discussions highlighting relevant | 15 | | social topics; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Steven Shoemaker donated his rich bass voice to | 17 | | various choirs and was a member of the Real Fire band; he also | 18 | | donated his time to be an integral part in the lives of others | 19 | | as he joined couples in marriage, performed funerals, and | 20 | | provided counseling and support, while never accepting | 21 | | payment; and | 22 | | WHEREAS, Steven Shoemaker enjoyed spending time with his | 23 | | family and taking his children on various trips to baseball |
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| 1 | | games, museums, and other places; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Steven Shoemaker is survived by his wonderful wife | 3 | | of 51 years, Nadja; his children, Daniel (Rachael) and Marla | 4 | | (Craig); and his grandchildren, Carter and Grace; therefore, be | 5 | | it
| 6 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | 7 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with his | 8 | | family and friends, mourn the passing of Rev. Dr. Steven Robert | 9 | | Shoemaker; and be it further
| 10 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 11 | | presented to the family of Steven Shoemaker as an expression of | 12 | | our sympathy.
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