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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Susan Loving Gravenhorst, who passed away
4on September 15, 2019; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Susan Gravenhorst was born in Effingham to Harold
6and Julia (Highsmith) Loving on October 1, 1931; she skipped
7the third grade and graduated from Effingham High School as
8class valedictorian at the age of 16; she graduated from
9Stephens College for Women in Columbia, Missouri in 1950 and
10received her Bachelor of Arts in English with a credential in
11secondary school teaching and a minor in speech from the
12University of Illinois in 1952; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Susan Gravenhorst married Albert D. "Alby"
14Gravenhorst on Valentine's Day 1953, and they moved around the
15country, as Albert pursued a career in advertising while Susan
16taught English, journalism, and speech in junior high and high
17schools in Atlanta, Des Moines, Birmingham (MI), Cleveland,
18Dallas, and finally Lake Forest; in the 1960s, she and her
19husband founded Gravenhorst & Associates, Incorporated in
20Chicago, where she served as chief financial officer and
21treasurer for over 35 years; and
 
22    WHEREAS, While living in Lake Forest, Susan Gravenhorst

 

 

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1became involved with many community organizations, including
2the Cherokee School PTA (President), the Lake Forest PTA
3(President), the Lake Forest High School Volunteer Board
4(President), the Lake Forest Symphony Associations' Women's
5Committee, the Lake Bluff/Lake Forest Committee of the Arden
6Shore Association, the Lake Forest Hospital Women's Board, PEO
7KV Chapter (President), Faith Lutheran Church's Mary and Martha
8Guild (President), and the Friends of Gorton Community Center
9Board; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Susan Gravenhorst became active in local
11politics, first serving as the president of the Women's
12Republican Club of Lake Forest; she served on the Lake Forest
13Caucus for eight years and as the State Central Republican
14Committeewoman for the Illinois 10th Congressional District
15from 1982 to 1998; she was also a member of the Lake County
16Republican Federation Board of Governors from 1968 to 1984; and
 
17    WHEREAS, In 1984, Susan Gravenhorst was elected to the
18University of Illinois Board of Trustees; she was re-elected in
191990 and, after the board shifted from elective to appointive,
20was appointed to a third term by Governor Jim Edgar in 1996; in
211998, she was elected chairman of the board and, consequently,
22her signature is on the diplomas of thousands of students who
23graduated during the 1998 to 2000 timeframe; she chaired most
24of the committees of the board and was the first woman to chair

 

 

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1the committee on athletics; she also served as a board member
2of the University of Illinois Foundation and its President's
3Council and the State Universities Civil Service Merit Board;
4and
 
5    WHEREAS, In 1999 at its annual convention in Seattle, the
6Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges
7honored Susan Gravenhorst with its Distinguished Service Award
8in Trusteeship for the "best volunteer service to public higher
9education"; and
 
10    WHEREAS, In 2002, after retiring from the University of
11Illinois Board of Trustees, she was elected Lake County
12Commissioner and served Lake Forest/Lake Bluff for eight years,
13retiring in 2012 at age 80; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Susan Gravenhorst was a member of the Knollwood
15Club, the Delta Gamma Sorority, and PEO; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Susan Gravenhorst was preceded in death by her
17husband, Alby; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Susan Gravenhorst is survived by her son, Hugo
19(Terese) Gravenhorst; her daughters, Suzanne Gravenhorst and
20Jane (Lars) Soderberg; and her grandchildren, Abigail (Ian)
21Strug, Eleanor Gravenhorst, Lars A. Soderberg, Anders

 

 

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1Soderberg, and Bradley Soderberg; therefore, be it
 
2    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
3ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
4Susan Loving Gravenhorst and extend our sincere condolences to
5her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it
6further
 
7    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
8presented to the family of Susan Gravenhorst as an expression
9of our deepest sympathy.