SR1250 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1250 LRB101 21721 ECR 72667 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of The Very Reverend Father Gus Franklin III, S.S.C. of Springfield, who passed away on May 3, 2020; and

WHEREAS, The Very Reverend Father Gus Franklin was born to Ruth and Gus Franklin II in Bellevue, Kentucky on January 28, 1938; he graduated from Bellevue High School in 1955 and received his bachelor's degree from Eastern Kentucky State College in 1959; he was named in the "Who's Who?" in the National Students in American Universities and Colleges the same year; he continued graduate studies at Indiana University, where he received a Master of Science in Education; he also attended the University of Illinois, receiving a master's degree in mathematics in 1960; and

WHEREAS, The Very Reverend Father Gus Franklin entered Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin in 1964 and graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity in Theology, Cum Laude in 1967; he was ordained a Priest on December 9, 1967 for the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield; he served several parishes during his career in the Diocese of Springfield and the Diocese of Quincy, retiring as Rector from the Church of St. Andrew the Apostle in Peoria in 1998; after retirement, he served as a Canon for the Cathedral in Springfield and frequently as a supply priest in the Diocese as needed; he was a bi-vocational Episcopal Priest for over thirty years, serving as Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of Illinois and Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield; he also taught at Bellevue High School for a year; and

WHEREAS, The Very Reverend Father Gus Franklin was passionate about organ music; he was an active member and past president of the American Theater Organ Society and a founding member of the ITOS; he continued in that role at the Cathedral where he was the Chairman of the Musical Arts Committee; he was also a member of the Springfield Choral Society for many years; and

WHEREAS, The Very Reverend Father Gus Franklin celebrated the 50th Anniversary of his Ordination to the Priesthood in 2017 at the Cathedral of Saint Paul the Apostle; and

WHEREAS, The Very Reverend Father Gus Franklin is survived by his brother, Gary (Joyce); and his two nieces, Melissa Franklin and Carol Lee Barber; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of The Very Reverend Father Gus Franklin III, S.S.C. and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of The Very Reverend Father Gus Franklin as an expression of our deepest sympathy.