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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Erika Gertrude Johanna Nieper of
4Waukegan, who passed away on February 28, 2016; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Erika Nieper was born on March 18, 1922 in the
6Bavarian Alps town of Oberstdorf, Germany; her parents were
7Gustav and Cecilia Keinath; at the age of about four, her
8parents moved their family to the northern Italian town of Riva
9to take ownership of a hotel; during her formative years in
10Riva, she became a competitive swimmer, winning many regional
11medals; she enjoyed snow skiing, ice skating, and exploring the
12mountains around Riva and found and developed talents in
13charcoal sketching, water colors, and the piano; she also
14became a wonderful cook and baker; as World War II got worse,
15her father died suddenly and her family relocated to Munich,
16Germany to wait out the war; and
 
17    WHEREAS, After the war, the United States government hired
18Erika Nieper as an interpreter, as she was fluent in German,
19Italian, and English; while there, she met her future husband,
20Henry, a soldier in the United States Army; they had planned a
21wedding in Munich in 1948, when Henry was suddenly called back
22to his hometown of Corsicana, Texas for several months to
23attend to urgent family matters; instead of waiting until he

 

 

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1could get back to Munich, they were married over the telephone
2by a judge in Corsicana; in 1952, Erika and Henry relocated to
3the United States by way of Dallas, Texas and Chicago; she
4became a United States citizen in 1957 and the couple
5eventually settled in Waukegan to raise their family; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Erika Nieper worked at the Scott Forseman Company
7in Glenview for many years until her retirement; she also
8worked as a manuscript typist in the college textbook
9department, typing English, German, Italian, Spanish, French,
10and mathematics texts; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Erika Nieper was preceded in death by her husband
12of 32 years, Henry, and her son-in-law, Edward Saulius; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Erika Nieper is survived by her children, Louis
14Nieper, Elaine Saulius, and Edward Nieper; her soon-to-be
15son-in-law, Jon Smith; and her extended family, Kristina Gall,
16Ilona Hirn, George and Roma Stoltengofas, Joseph and Poala Hirn
17and their son, Felipe, and Christina and Steven Arseneau and
18their children, Theodore and Eleanor; therefore, be it
 
19    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
20ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with her
21family and friends, mourn the passing of Erika Gertrude Johanna
22Nieper; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2presented to the family of Erika Nieper as an expression of our
3sympathy.