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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Eugene E. "Gene" Gaffner of Greenville,
4who passed away on May 28, 2015; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Gene Gaffner was born in Bond County on February
68, 1927 to Emil and Edna (nee Stiegman) Gaffner; he lived in
7Clinton County and attended Lutheran Grade School in Ferrin; he
8moved with his family to Bond County and graduated from
9Pocahontas High School in 1945; following high school, he
10attended Greenville College, where he received an Emergency
11Teaching Certificate issued during World War II; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Gene Gaffner taught for one year at the Metcalf
13one-room school in Bond County; after teaching, he worked on
14farms, at Pet Milk in Greenville, and at the Alton Box Company
15in Highland; he married Shirley Young on June 27, 1948 in
16Highland; and
 
17    WHEREAS, In 1951, Gene Gaffner joined the Bond County
18Service Company in Greenville, now known as South Central FS;
19he was an agricultural products salesman supplying livestock
20feed, seed, fertilizer, chemicals, farm buildings, and grain
21handling systems, retiring in 1992; for many of the years with
22the Bond County Service Company, he owned the trucks and

 

 

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1equipment needed to service the farming community and was
2responsible for hiring and supervising employees who delivered
3and applied the products; for a number of years in his
4retirement, he recruited and coordinated the volunteers who
5staffed the Bond County Fair entrance gates; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Gene Gaffner was a member of the Greenville
7Regional Hospital Auxiliary, making wire frames for homemade
8wreaths sold at the Holiday Bazaar and assisting with the
9homemade apple butter project; he was also a Greenville
10Regional Hospital Health Fair volunteer; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Gene Gaffner was a long-time and active member of
12the Greenville First United Methodist Church, where he served
13on the Administrative Board and annually assisted with the
14preparation of Thanksgiving food baskets distributed to
15community residents; he enjoyed spending time with his family,
16travelling, and spending winter months in Florida; as a young
17adult, he played on men's travelling baseball teams; he was an
18avid St. Louis Cardinals' baseball fan and participated in a
19Cardinal try-out camp, remaining at the try-out camp until the
20final cuts; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Gene Gaffner is survived by his wife of 66 years,
22Shirley; and his 3 children, Alan (Lori) Gaffner, Renea (Ed)
23Barnes, and Arlin (Marla Wade) Gaffner; he was the loving

 

 

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1grandfather of 8, Ben Gaffner, Emily Gaffner, Hannah Gaffner,
2Lindsay (Seth) Strotheide, Jarett Barnes, Matt (Rachel)
3Gaffner, Amy (Chad) McDonald, and Tommy (Sarah) Gaffner; and
4the great-grandfather of 3, Raelee Strotheide, Henry Gaffner,
5and Cooper McDonald; therefore, be it
 
6    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
7ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
8Eugene E. "Gene" Gaffner, and extend our sincere condolences to
9his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
10further
 
11    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
12presented to the family of Gene Gaffner as an expression of our
13deepest sympathy.