SR1324 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1324 LRB098 21718 MST 60571 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Bob McQuirter of Peoria, who passed away on June 7, 2014; and

WHEREAS, Bob McQuirter was born in Clinton, Mississippi to the Reverend Wroten, Sr. and Annie Mae (nee Murriel) McQuirter; he married Shirley Davis on July 5, 1968; and

WHEREAS, Bob McQuirter spent 3 years serving in the United States Army as a paratrooper starting in January of 1964, and then spent 3 years on inactive reserve duty; after basic training and military correspondence school, he was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company III Corps at Fort Hood, Texas, for approximately 6 months; after 8 weeks of parachute training at Fort Benning, Georgia, his next assignment took him to the infamous "All American" Airborne Paratrooper unit, the 82nd Airborne Division, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; after 30 days at his new unit, he experienced his first introduction to military combat in the Dominican Republic; he was later awarded the National Defense Service Medal and Combat Infantryman Badge for service from April to July of 1965; following his service in the Dominican Republic, he was assigned to the infamous "Screaming Eagles", the 101st Airborne Brigade, in the Republic of South Vietnam; he served 12 months in the Republic of South Vietnam and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, and his second Combat Infantryman Badge; and

WHEREAS, Following his military service, Bob McQuirter attended Jackson State University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Business; in June of 1970, he started working at Caterpillar Inc.'s worldwide headquarters in Peoria; while at Caterpillar, he charted and graphed economic data for 9 Latin and Central American countries, and at one point, during the Asian downturn, he tracked and reported currency changes for 42 global countries; he spent the last 11 years of his career in Human Resources; in February of 2009, he retired from Caterpillar after 38 1/2 years of full-time service; and

WHEREAS, Bob McQuirter made significant contributions to the Peoria community as adviser to the Black Achievers (young African American teenagers) at the YMCA; he was founder and served as past-president of the Heart of Peoria Neighborhood Association and he was past-chairman of the Peoria Housing and Property Maintenance Commission, the Neighborhood Development Commission, and the Peoria Police Community Relations Advisory Group; he was a Children's Home Association board member, had recently served on the Board of Commissioners at the Peoria Housing Authority, and was a member of CAAR (Concerned African American Retirees); in January of 2007, he and his wife, Shirley, were co-recipients of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "Drum Major" award; and

WHEREAS, Bob McQuirter was preceded in death by his father, Wroten McQuirter Sr.; and

WHEREAS, Bob McQuirter is survived by his wife, Shirley; 2 sons, Brian McQuirter and Vincent (Tanesha) McQuirter; one daughter, Erin McQuirter; his mother, Annie Mae McQuirter; 7 brothers, James (Sue) McQuirter Sr., Wroten McQuirter Jr., Joseph (Dorothy) McQuirter, Paul (Louise) McQuirter, Gerald McQuirter, Dewight McQuirter, and Darel McQuirter; one sister, Limmie (Henry) Flowers; 4 grandchildren, Diamante', DaVion, DeAris, and NaShyla; and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Bob McQuirter, and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

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