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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of James E. Gast of New Lenox, who passed
4away on May 9, 2016; and
 
5    WHEREAS, James Gast was born to Stanton and Clare (Brock)
6Gast on July 7, 1941; he attended St. Joseph Grade School and
7graduated from Lincoln-Way High School in 1959, where he was
8active on the football and baseball teams, serving as Captain
9of both during his Senior year; he was also a member of the
10Future Farmers of America, was a representative in Springfield
11for Boys State, and was on the Student Council; he attended St.
12Ambrose College and Southern Illinois University, where he
13majored in Agriculture; he married Mary Lou Cummins in 1965;
14and
 
15    WHEREAS, James Gast began his career as a salesman with the
16International Harvester Company in 1964; he worked in various
17management positions for the next ten years in Illinois,
18Missouri, Kansas, and Minnesota; his last assignment was in
19Warren, Minnesota, where he managed a company store from 1972
20to 1974; in December of 1974, he purchased Moss Equipment in
21Joliet and created Gast International, an International
22Harvester Farm Equipment store; after five years in the
23original facilities, he moved into a new, larger facility; his

 

 

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1dealership has been featured in many International Harvester
2advertising brochures, TV commercials, and company magazines;
3and
 
4    WHEREAS, James Gast served as President of the
5International Harvester North American Agriculture Dealer
6Council representing U.S. and Canadian agriculture dealers in
71982; he served on various advisory councils at Lincoln-Way
8High School, Joliet Junior College, and St. Francis Academy and
9was past Chairman of the Will County Heart Fund Drive; he was
10always active in the Farm Equipment Association, serving as
11President in 1983; he was involved in many Illinois Retail
12Dealer's Association activities and served as President in
131984; he retired in 2000; and
 
14    WHEREAS, James Gast's proudest accomplishment was being
15elected to the Board of Education of Lincoln-Way Community High
16School in 1983; he served on the Board for 33 years from 1983
17to 2016; he was a community relations ambassador for the
18Lincoln-Way High School District 210; he served as President of
19the Board of Education three times from 1989 to 1991, from 1997
20to 1998, and from 2003 to 2005; he served as the Board liaison
21to the Lincoln-Way District 210 Foundation for Educational
22Excellence from 1999 to 2001; and
 
23    WHEREAS, James Gast was a strong supporter of the

 

 

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1district's vocational and fine arts programs; his support of a
2partnership for an Agri-Science Center in conjunction with a
3neighboring village succeeded in securing an eight-acre
4Agri-Science Center; he also took a leadership role with the
5Lincoln-Way Alumni Planning Committee and served on their board
6of directors for more than six years; and
 
7    WHEREAS, James Gast was one of the leaders of the
8district's 10-year reading program, which became a graduation
9requirement by the Board of Education; he was one of the
10presenters of the district's reading program, "Ascending the
11Reading Summit: 10 Step Success Story" as part of the Carousel
12of Panels at the Illinois Association of School Board's Annual
13Conference in 2010; and
 
14    WHEREAS, James Gast was involved with Lincoln-Way's
15Special Education Joint Agreement Governing Board of District
16843 on which he was a member from 2001 to 2015; he served as
17Secretary from 2003 to 2006, as President from 2007 to 2009,
18and as Vice-President from 2013 to 2015; he served over 45,000
19Lincoln-Way students during his 33 years as a Board of
20Education member; he dedicated thousands of hours to activities
21to improve support and understanding of the school district;
22and
 
23    WHEREAS, James Gast twice earned the INSPRA's

 

 

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1Distinguished Service Award in the Board of Education category;
2and
 
3    WHEREAS, James Gast was a hard-working, self-made man who
4was dedicated to his family, his business, and his community;
5he had a strong, quiet exterior and a devoted and generous
6heart; he and his wife, Mary Lou, always had an open door to
7welcome friends and enjoyed hosting parties for friends, family
8and "the kids"; and
 
9    WHEREAS, James Gast was father to Mark E. (Christy) Gast
10and Melissa (Alan) Breitbart; brother to Kathleen (Dennis)
11Galle, Ray (Jo) Gast, and Rita (Charlie) Russella;
12brother-in-law to Vance Cummins; "Papa" to his grandchildren,
13Ryan and Alec Gast and James and Mia Breitbart; and "Uncle Jim"
14to his nieces and nephews, Juli, Galle, Mike (Erin) Galle, Beth
15(Kameron) deVente, Jeff (Katrina) Galle, Christopher (Melanie)
16Galle, Andrea (Kieran) Noonan, Nick (Meg) Galle, Kate (Sean)
17Ramswick, Pete Russella, and Joe Russella, Melissa (Hugh) Rink,
18David Morgan, and Kristen Gast; therefore, be it
 
19    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
20ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
21James E. Gast, and extend our sincere condolences to his
22family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
23further
 

 

 

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