| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Ralph | ||||||
| 4 | Eugene Sackett, who passed away on August 18, 2021; and
| ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Ralph Sackett was born in St. Louis, Missouri on | ||||||
| 6 | October 27, 1937; he was raised by Tilda Mae and Sam Vernon | ||||||
| 7 | Sackett alongside his brothers, the late Don and Joe, in | ||||||
| 8 | Collinsville, Illinois; he excelled in baseball in high | ||||||
| 9 | school; he was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles, but instead | ||||||
| 10 | he attended Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU), where he | ||||||
| 11 | played third baseman for the Titans throughout college; he | ||||||
| 12 | married Alicia Ann Westwood during their senior year at IWU; | ||||||
| 13 | and
| ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, Ralph Sackett began coaching the Bloomington | ||||||
| 15 | Bobcats, an all-star college team, while earning his master's | ||||||
| 16 | degree in Mathematics at Illinois State University; he then | ||||||
| 17 | taught and coached numerous sports at Reddick and Octavia High | ||||||
| 18 | Schools, Washington University, and Granite City High School | ||||||
| 19 | before finishing his coaching career at Bloomington High | ||||||
| 20 | School; under his direction, his baseball, cross country, and | ||||||
| 21 | basketball teams all excelled; and
| ||||||
| 22 | WHEREAS, Ralph Sackett began a new career in banking with | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | Bloomington Federal Savings & Loan in 1975, which took him and | ||||||
| 2 | his family to Champaign; he went into real estate development, | ||||||
| 3 | completing the Robeson Crossing development in southwest | ||||||
| 4 | Champaign at the end of his working career; and
| ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Ralph Sackett enjoyed golfing, fishing, and | ||||||
| 6 | cheering for his St. Louis Cardinals; alongside his wife, he | ||||||
| 7 | loved spending time with family and relaxing in Naples, | ||||||
| 8 | Florida and at their cabin in the woods on Lake Napowan, | ||||||
| 9 | Wisconsin; he was an avid fisherman and took great pleasure in | ||||||
| 10 | fish fries around the fire with those he loved; and
| ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, Ralph Sackett was affectionately known as "Papa"; | ||||||
| 12 | he will be remembered for his big bear hugs and his beautiful | ||||||
| 13 | smile; and
| ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, At the time of his passing, Ralph Sackett was | ||||||
| 15 | survived by his wife of 61 years, Alicia; his children, Robb | ||||||
| 16 | (Mary Beth), Jill Burton (Gregory), Todd (Kandi), and Matt | ||||||
| 17 | (Jennifer); his 11 grandchildren; and his two | ||||||
| 18 | great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
| ||||||
| 19 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 20 | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 21 | we mourn the passing of Ralph Eugene Sackett and extend our | ||||||
| 22 | sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | and loved him; and be it further
| ||||||
| 2 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 3 | presented to the family of Ralph Sackett as an expression of | ||||||
| 4 | our deepest sympathy.
| ||||||