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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 Dennis "Denny" Powell of Heyworth, who | ||||||
| 4 | passed away on October 29, 2020; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Denny Powell was born to Eleanore (Barnes) and | ||||||
| 6 | Donald Powell in Bloomington on September 7, 1942; he graduated | ||||||
| 7 | from Heyworth High School and served in the Illinois National | ||||||
| 8 | Guard for 14 years; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, Denny Powell farmed his great-grandparents land | ||||||
| 10 | for most of his life, from the late 1950s to the present; he | ||||||
| 11 | was a fireman for 56 years with the Randolph Township Fire | ||||||
| 12 | Department; widely recognized as a leader and innovator, he | ||||||
| 13 | served 39 of those years as fire chief with a focus on | ||||||
| 14 | education, training, and development, which continues to this | ||||||
| 15 | day; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Denny Powell served as the Randolph Township Road | ||||||
| 17 | Commissioner and as Sexton, Supervisor, and Restoration | ||||||
| 18 | Developer for the Randolph Township cemeteries; he served on | ||||||
| 19 | numerous committees, boards, and councils within the township, | ||||||
| 20 | McLean County, and Illinois; and
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| 21 | WHEREAS, Denny Powell was a loyal community servant for the | ||||||
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| 1 | majority of his life; in 2013, he was honored as the McLean | ||||||
| 2 | County Mayors Association Person of the Year for his years of | ||||||
| 3 | service and for being a key contributor in implementing E911 | ||||||
| 4 | first responder capabilities in rural areas; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Denny Powell enjoyed all aspects of farming and | ||||||
| 6 | collected farm tractors and John Deere memorabilia; his farm | ||||||
| 7 | was the gathering spot for the holidays, harvest time, and the | ||||||
| 8 | Fourth of July; he respected the American flag and worked to | ||||||
| 9 | ensure veterans were recognized for their service; he was loyal | ||||||
| 10 | and generous and had an extraordinarily close family who knew | ||||||
| 11 | him as "Chief"; he never missed an episode of Gunsmoke or | ||||||
| 12 | Bonanza, and he saw every John Wayne film, multiple times; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Denny Powell was preceded in death by his parents; | ||||||
| 14 | his brother, Terry (Nelda) Powell; and his step-sister, Lois | ||||||
| 15 | (Marvin) Detloff; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Denny Powell is survived by his stepsister, | ||||||
| 17 | Loretta (Wayne) Meece; five nephews; one niece; ten | ||||||
| 18 | grandnephews; five grandnieces; three great-grandnieces; and | ||||||
| 19 | two great-grandnephews; therefore, be it
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| 20 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | ||||||
| 21 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
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| 22 | Dennis "Denny" Powell and extend our sincere
condolences to his | ||||||
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| 1 | family, friends, and all who knew and loved
him; and be it | ||||||
| 2 | further
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| 3 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
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| 4 | presented to the family of Denny Powell as an expression of
our | ||||||
| 5 | deepest sympathy.
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