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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 Rita Florence Link Franke, who passed | ||||||
| 4 | away on May 27, 2019; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Rita Franke was born in Springfield to Rose Marie | ||||||
| 6 | Klopenburg and Frank Valentine Link on September 3, 1923; she | ||||||
| 7 | attended St. Peter and Paul Grade School and Ursuline Academy; | ||||||
| 8 | in her early years, she learned to tap dance and developed a | ||||||
| 9 | lifelong love of dancing; when she was 14, her family moved to | ||||||
| 10 | Lake Springfield, and she enjoyed fishing, swimming, and | ||||||
| 11 | hosting her friends; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, Rita Franke began working at the Office of Price | ||||||
| 13 | Administration in Chicago; she married Allyn Franke at Blessed | ||||||
| 14 | Sacrament Church in Springfield in 1945, and they lived in | ||||||
| 15 | Chicago for a time before settling in Deerfield; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, In Deerfield, Rita Franke's life initially | ||||||
| 17 | revolved around taking care of her family, her husband Al and | ||||||
| 18 | their five children, Terry, Barbara, Rich, Greg, and Alan; they | ||||||
| 19 | attended Holy Cross Church, where Rita became active when the | ||||||
| 20 | children attended the elementary school; in 1958, she and Al | ||||||
| 21 | worked with other families to found Tennaqua, a family swim and | ||||||
| 22 | tennis club; and | ||||||
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Rita Franke was deeply committed to her community; | ||||||
| 2 | she volunteered with numerous organizations and particularly | ||||||
| 3 | enjoyed cutting men's hair at St. Anne's home; she had a love | ||||||
| 4 | of plants and specialized in tending the topiaries for 20 years | ||||||
| 5 | at Chicago Botanic Garden; she also volunteered at a soup | ||||||
| 6 | kitchen in Waukegan well into her 80s; and | ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, Rita Franke enjoyed music, sewing, knitting, | ||||||
| 8 | needlepoint, ceramics, decorating, painting, and bridge; in | ||||||
| 9 | 1978, she co-founded The Potting Post, a unique store in | ||||||
| 10 | Deerfield selling plants and antiques; she and Al bought a | ||||||
| 11 | small house in Alejuela, Costa Rica, which they visited for 25 | ||||||
| 12 | years during Chicago's coldest winter months; she loved the | ||||||
| 13 | sunshine, a cold cervesa at lunch, a siesta in the hammock, the | ||||||
| 14 | warmth of the people, and the precious time with her cherished | ||||||
| 15 | Al; and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, Rita Franke was affectionately called "Granri"; | ||||||
| 17 | she loved connecting with her 8 grandchildren and her 11 | ||||||
| 18 | great-grandchildren; she was a parishioner of Holy Cross Church | ||||||
| 19 | for 70 years and was one of the first women to give holy | ||||||
| 20 | communication there; and
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| 21 | WHEREAS, Rita Franke was preceded in death by her husband | ||||||
| 22 | of 62 years, Allyn; her son, Richard; her daughter-in-law, | ||||||
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| 1 | Paula; and her grandson, Eric; therefore, be it
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| 2 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | ||||||
| 3 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | ||||||
| 4 | Rita Florence Link Franke and extend our sincere condolences to | ||||||
| 5 | her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it | ||||||
| 6 | further
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| 7 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 8 | presented to the family of Rita Franke as an expression of our | ||||||
| 9 | deepest sympathy.
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