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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | ||||||
| 3 | learn of the death of Florence M. O'Neil Brannon on December 9, | ||||||
| 4 | 2018 at the age of 98; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Florence Brannon was born on October 9, 1920 to | ||||||
| 6 | James and Mary O'Neil, the oldest of their three daughters, in | ||||||
| 7 | Ludlow, Massachusetts; she was salutatorian of the Ludlow High | ||||||
| 8 | School class of 1937, and, in 1941, graduated from | ||||||
| 9 | UMass-Amherst with a Bachelor of Arts in Home Economics (now | ||||||
| 10 | Food Science); she was a member and officer of Chi Omega | ||||||
| 11 | sorority; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, In 1942, Florence Brannon was recruited by the | ||||||
| 13 | United States Department of Agriculture, where she served for | ||||||
| 14 | six years as a food inspector of California Canneries; in this | ||||||
| 15 | role, she ensured that the foods delivered to the U.S. military | ||||||
| 16 | from San Diego to the Oregon border were Grade A; she relished | ||||||
| 17 | the "good deal of freedom" the position gave her; while living | ||||||
| 18 | in San Francisco, she married Richard Brannon, a ship's | ||||||
| 19 | engineer in the Merchant Marines; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Florence Brannon, after the birth of her son, | ||||||
| 21 | earned a master's degree in management at The Ohio State | ||||||
| 22 | University; she resumed her career with the federal government | ||||||
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| 1 | as a dietician for Northampton V.A. Medical Center, where she | ||||||
| 2 | worked for 35 years, eventually becoming the chief dietician | ||||||
| 3 | supervising the 65 staff members; and | ||||||
| 4 | WHEREAS, Florence Brannon was active for many years in the | ||||||
| 5 | American Dietetic Association and Zonta International, a | ||||||
| 6 | service group focused on empowering women around the world; | ||||||
| 7 | following her retirement in 1985, she became a great traveler, | ||||||
| 8 | visiting family, friends, and historic places across the United | ||||||
| 9 | States as well as in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, | ||||||
| 10 | including a favorite trip to the Great Wall of China; and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, In December 2002, Florence Brannon moved to Oak | ||||||
| 12 | Park to be near family; she was considered very observant and | ||||||
| 13 | pleasant; in celebration of her 98th birthday, she ordered | ||||||
| 14 | Chinese food with champagne and creme brulee for all; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, Florence Brannon was preceded in death by her son, | ||||||
| 16 | Richard, and by her sisters, Alice Marshall and Marion (Paul) | ||||||
| 17 | Scholten; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, Florence Brannon is survived by her | ||||||
| 19 | brother-in-law, James Marshall, as well as many nieces and | ||||||
| 20 | nephews and other loved ones; therefore, be it
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| 21 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | ||||||
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| 1 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | ||||||
| 2 | Florence M. O'Neil Brannon, and extend our sincere condolences | ||||||
| 3 | to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be | ||||||
| 4 | it further
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| 5 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 6 | presented to the family of Florence Brannon as an expression of | ||||||
| 7 | our deepest sympathy.
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