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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Virgil R. Smith of Woodstock, who passed
4away on March 22, 2015; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Virgil Smith was born in Aurora on June 30, 1924
6to George D. and Myrtle E. (nee Ebinger) Smith; he grew up on
7his parents' dairy farm in Oswego and graduated from East
8Aurora High School; he served in the United States Navy Air
9Corps from November of 1943 to September of 1945; he earned his
10bachelor's degree from Cornell College in 1949 and married Jean
11Ann Trego in Mt. Vernon, Iowa on September 17, 1949; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Virgil Smith and his wife moved to Woodstock in
131952 when he was hired as McHenry County Farm Bureau manager;
14he became a stock broker in 1957 and thrived in his work for
15the next 50 years, building the Woodstock A.G. Edwards & Sons
16office into one of the most successful offices in the firm's
17100-year history and into one of the most respected financial
18institutions in McHenry County; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Virgil Smith loved Woodstock deeply; for his
20commitment to making Woodstock a better place, he was honored
21with the Harold Buschkopf Award and recognized as Woodstock's
22Man of the Year; he was a champion of the Woodstock Chamber of

 

 

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1Commerce, President of Woodstock Little League during its
2crucial building years, a member of the 1963-64 All-America
3City committee, Chairman of the Memorial Hospital Foundation
4Board, and an active member of First United Methodist Church of
5Woodstock for 62 years; his passion for Woodstock led to his
6spearheading efforts to keep the Square vibrant, including
7refurbishing the Woodstock Theatre, the Woodstock Square Mall,
8and the Woodstock Exchange Building, which were catalysts in
9the passage of a referendum establishing a special taxing
10district to enhance the Square; passage of a Woodstock School
11District 200 referendum and a fundraising campaign for the
12Opera House followed; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Virgil Smith was preceded in death by his wife,
14Jean; his brother and sister-in-law, J. George and Ann Smith;
15and his sister and brother-in-law, Elaine Smith Crane and Paul
16Crane; and
17
18    WHEREAS, Virgil Smith is survived by his daughter, Marcia
19(David) Smith Erwin; his 2 sons, Martin (Betty Hamilton) Smith
20and Gordon (Karen Wrage) Smith; his 9 grandchildren, Michael
21(Karen) Erwin, Derek Erwin, Melissa (Kyle) Hamilton-Smith
22Lukey, Mackenzie (Ben) Erwin Keenan, Melinda Hamilton-Smith,
23Karsten Hamilton-Smith, Tyler Smith, Katrina Hamilton-Smith,
24and Grayson Smith; and his 4 great-grandchildren, Brighton
25Haverland, Carter Erwin, Brooks Keenan and Beckett Keenan;

 

 

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1therefore, be it
 
2    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
3ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
4Virgil R. Smith, and extend our sincere condolences to his
5family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
6further
 
7    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
8presented to the family of Virgil Smith as an expression of our
9deepest sympathy.