SR0437 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0437 LRB102 19260 LAW 28026 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Nanci Steele of Des Plaines, who passed away on July 11, 2021; and

WHEREAS, Nanci Steele was born in Chicago on September 16, 1946; she was raised in Evanston; and

WHEREAS, In the 1970s, Nanci Steele began working in the retail wine industry at Sola's Wine & Spirits, named Chicago's Best Wine Store by the Chicago Tribune wine columnist Craig Goldwyn; she was the first woman in Chicago to be a wholesale wine industry sales representative and worked for Judge & Dolph; for a short period, she wrote the wine column for the Chicago Sun-Times after the passing of their regular columnist Arnold Landsman; and

WHEREAS, Nanci Steele was the first woman to win and a two-time winner of Geja's Annual International Professional Wine Tasting Contest from 1980 to 1981 before she retired from the event; she was a founding member of Chicago's Dames d'Escoffier, an organization of professional wine industry women dedicated to furthering wine and food appreciation; and

WHEREAS, Nanci Steele obtained her master's degree in Special Education after retiring from the wine industry and taught at Hanson Park Elementary in Chicago for 10 years until 2001; and

WHEREAS, Nanci Steele was the daughter of the late Robert E. and Marjorie (Marsau) Ryan; the wife of James Steele; the mother of Barbra Versino (Rich Spychalski) and the late Robert Versino; and the grandmother of Jonathan Spychalski, Emma Spychalski, and the family dog Reiley; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Nanci Steele and extend our sincere condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Nanci Steele as an expression of our deepest sympathy.