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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the | ||||||
| 3 | State of Illinois learned with sadness of the death of William | ||||||
| 4 | Thompson Roberts, 82, of Alton, on November 7, 2005; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, He was born in 1923 at Martins Ferry, Ohio, to | ||||||
| 6 | Byron and Ruth (Thompson) Roberts; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, He graduated from the Lab School at the University | ||||||
| 8 | of Chicago, attended Indiana University, and studied at | ||||||
| 9 | Washington University in St. Louis; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, He enlisted in the Marine Corps, served in the | ||||||
| 11 | Pacific during World War II, rose to the rank of Lieutenant, | ||||||
| 12 | and was involved in the surrender of the Japanese in Tokyo Bay | ||||||
| 13 | to end World War II; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, In 1949, Mr. Roberts opened a small | ||||||
| 15 | DeSoto-Plymouth dealership in Wood River and designated the | ||||||
| 16 | dealership Roberts Motors; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, Under his leadership, Roberts Motors expanded and | ||||||
| 18 | moved to the Alton area, where it became a | ||||||
| 19 | Chrysler-Plymouth-GMC truck dealership; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Mr. Roberts expanded in new directions when he | ||||||
| 21 | founded Roberts Leasing in 1961 and added to his business | ||||||
| 22 | holdings by his purchase of a Ford dealership in Wood River; | ||||||
| 23 | and
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| 24 | WHEREAS, Mr. Roberts served the Alton-Wood River Auto | ||||||
| 25 | Dealers Association as its president and he shared his business | ||||||
| 26 | acumen with the Madison-St. Clair Dealers Association as a | ||||||
| 27 | member of the board of directors; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, He served on the advisory committee of Secretary | ||||||
| 2 | of State Jim Edgar and the National Chrysler-Plymouth Council | ||||||
| 3 | representing the St. Louis District; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, As one of the founding members of Pride Inc., | ||||||
| 5 | Roberts was instrumental in establishing the driver's | ||||||
| 6 | education program at Alton High School; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Roberts was proud of his memberships in the River | ||||||
| 8 | Bend Growth Association, the Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club, and the | ||||||
| 9 | Scottish Rite Masonic Order; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, The memorial service for Mr. Roberts was held at | ||||||
| 11 | the First Presbyterian Church of Alton, where he was a trustee | ||||||
| 12 | and elder; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his parents and his | ||||||
| 14 | brother, Bobby; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, The passing of William Thompson Roberts is felt by | ||||||
| 16 | all who knew and loved him, especially his wife, Sylvia Howard | ||||||
| 17 | Roberts; his daughter, Susan Elizabeth Roberts; his son, David | ||||||
| 18 | Roberts; his stepdaughter, Susan Trainor; and three | ||||||
| 19 | grandchildren, Kathryn Roberts, Jennifer Roberts, and Sarah | ||||||
| 20 | Trainor; therefore, be it
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| 21 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 22 | NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 23 | we mourn the passing of William Thompson Roberts and we extend | ||||||
| 24 | our sincere condolences to his family and friends; and be it | ||||||
| 25 | further
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| 26 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 27 | presented to his family as an expression of our sympathy.
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