SR1518 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1518 LRB099 20533 GRL 45075 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Merle C. Bassett, who passed away on February 6, 2016; and

WHEREAS, Merle Bassett was born on November 9, 1928 in Fosterburg; his parents were Clyde H. and Nellie E. (nee Schmidt) Bassett; he married Norine Burk on March 28, 1948 at St. John's United Church of Christ in Wood River; and

WHEREAS, Merle Bassett attended Alton High School for two years and then graduated from East Alton Wood River High School in 1946; he attended DePauw University for one and a half years and graduated from Washington University in 1950; he later graduated from Washington University Law School in 1952, where he was awarded the Order of COIF and graduated second in his class; and

WHEREAS, Merle Bassett was an attorney at Bassett Law Office in Wood River for 64 years; he was a former special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois from 1965 to 1999, where he helped condemn the property for Lewis and Clark Bridge; he was an Assistant State's Attorney from 1956 to 1964 under Dick Mudge; he was the attorney in the prosecution of James Earl Ray in a burglary charge; he was also a Khoury League coach for many years, an avid golfer and trap shooter, and a member of Lockhaven Country Club; and

WHEREAS, Throughout his career, Merle Bassett represented the City of Wood River, the Southwest Illinois Development Corporation, the Village of Hartford, the Rosewood Heights Sanitary District, Wood River Township, Brighton Township, the Village of Roxana, the Village of Bethalto, Foster Township, and the Wood River Drainage and Levy District; and

WHEREAS, Merle Bassett was a member of St. John's United Church of Christ in Wood River, where he taught the mixed adult Sunday School Class for 19 years with Oliver Honke; he was a 50-year member of the Wood River Masonic Lodge #1062, where he was a 32nd Degree Mason; he was a Demolay and a Shriner; he was a member of the Wood River Jaycees and chairman of the March of Dimes; he served as the president of the Airport Board for the State of Illinois; he was also a member of the American Bar Association and the Bar Associations of Illinois, Missouri, and Madison County, and president of Toastmasters and the East Alton Wood River High School Foundation Board; and

WHEREAS, Merle Bassett was a member of the East Alton Wood River High School Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 2009; and

WHEREAS, Merle Bassett was preceded in death by his parents; his stepmother, Velma Bassett; his stepfather, Darrell Finley; his son, Gerald W. Bassett; and his grandson, Jerrad C. Bassett; and

WHEREAS, Merle Bassett is survived by his wife, Norine; his daughters and sons-in-law, Laura Bassett Friedman and Eric, Lynn Bassett and Tommy House, and Rene and Tracy Butler; his grandchildren and their spouses, Marina Bassett, Sasha Bassett, Kaleigh (Andrew) Rider, Kyle (Val) Bassett, Madison Friedman, Tyler Friedman, Kathryn Butler, and Nathaniel Butler; his great-grandchildren, Reygan and Jackson; and his special friends, Beverly Pohlman, Jeannine Burk, Jennifer and Matt Stimac, Matt Barton, Kevin and the staff of Camp Drug Store, and the Rosewood Heights Volunteer Fire Department; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with his family and friends, mourn the passing of Merle C. Bassett; and be it further

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