SR0117 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0117 LRB096 11762 KXB 22533 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Ronald H. McBride of Glen Carbon, who passed away on February 23, 2009; and

WHEREAS, He was born January 28, 1948, in Chester, Pennsylvania; he married Patricia Hoffmann on June 3, 1967, in Mineral Wells, Texas; he was an officer in the United States Army, serving two tours of duty in the Vietnam War as a helicopter pilot, then continued his military career for 26 years; during that time he was stationed at various bases in Texas, Georgia, Alabama, and in Germany, where he was an ROTC instructor and worked as a comptroller before retiring at the rank of Lt. Colonel; and

WHEREAS, After retirement, he started his own real estate business and was the founder and general manager of the Cherry Hills Apartment Complex in Edwardsville; he had a passion for flying and owned his own aircraft for many years, earning multiple pilot ratings for various types of aircraft including Lear Jet, Seaplane, helicopters, multi-engine aircraft, and hang gliders; and he once flew a Cessna single-engine aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Germany to the United States; he was president of a flying club while living in Germany, worked as a flight and ground school instructor, and worked for the Federal Aviation Administration as a flight examiner; and

WHEREAS, He earned his master's degree in business from Kansas State University, was a member of the Metro East Landlords Association, St. Boniface Catholic Church in Edwardsville, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, was a volunteer usher at the Fox Theater in St. Louis, and a lifetime member of the Eagle Scouts of America Association, having earned the rank of Eagle Scout when a teenager; and

WHEREAS, He enjoyed snow skiing, traveling, water sports, collecting model trains, theater, animals, especially his two cats, Sparky and Daisy, and bowling, where he met his wife; he loved spending time with his family; to him nothing was more important in life than his family; his motto was, "Family first, duty second"; he was a very giving individual always looking for ways to help others; people always looked to him for mentoring and he never turned down the opportunity to help another person; he modeled his life after the philosophies, "Do good deeds" and "Good things happen to good people"; and

WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his parents, Francis and Vera, nee Hendley, McBride; his stepmother, Charlotte McBride; and his brother-in-law, Brice Wickham; and

WHEREAS, He is survived by his beloved wife of 42 years, Patricia, nee Hoffmann, McBride; his three daughters, Kimberley and Robert Prater, Laura and Martin Deckert, and Beth McBride; his brothers Francis "Rocky" McBride and Tim and Michelle McGrath; his sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Lois and Lew Glasgow, Liz and Louie Rohlfing, and Bob and Candace Hoffmann; his sisters-in-law, Nancy Wickham, Ruth Yager, and Donna Klopfer; and his grandchildren, Allison, Rebecca, Kyle, Cameron Prater, Patrick, Elena, and Philip Deckert; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Ronald McBride; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Ronald McBride as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.