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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3to learn of the death of Dennis L. Wilson of Athens, who passed
4away on January 9, 2022; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Dennis Wilson was born in Springfield to Carl
6Leamon and Ora Pearl Boyer Wilson on July 7, 1950; he graduated
7from PORTA High School in 1968; he was drafted by the U.S. Army
8in 1969, and he served with the 82nd Airborne Division during
9the Vietnam War; he returned to Petersburg after his service;
10he married Rebecca "Becky" Aiken on October 13, 1973; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Dennis Wilson worked for the Illinois Department
12of Transportation/Division of Highways for 34 years and
13retired as a lead worker for Mason and Menard counties in 2008;
14he loved to tell the stories of plowing snow during the
15blizzards of the 1970s and 1980s, especially the one where he
16plowed the same snow from the same storm for weeks due to ever
17shifting winds; he could tell you how to get anywhere in the
18U.S. on any road and was always asked for directions anywhere
19he went, even if he had never been to the destination himself;
20and
 
21    WHEREAS, Dennis Wilson was extensively involved in the
22community over the years; he served as cubmaster for Athens

 

 

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1Pack 52, as assistant scoutmaster for Athens Boy Scout Troop
252, and as unit commissioner for the Abraham Lincoln Council;
3while cubmaster, he was so successful in recruiting boys into
4the scouting program at one point that there were more boys in
5the school district in Scouts than not; he was also a member of
6Menard County American Legion Post #129 and served in a
7variety of positions; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Dennis Wilson loved traveling with his family and
9spending the winters in Arizona, visiting with his pals in the
10neighborhood; he was overjoyed when he reconnected with his
11high school buddy, John Boeker, and they attended drag races
12and car shows while continuing the over 50-year debate about
13Chevy versus Ford; he lived his life to be with his family and
14to take care of them; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Dennis Wilson was preceded in death by his
16parents; his brothers, Daniel Carl Wilson and Larry Wilson;
17his sister, Dixie Harris; and an infant sister, Mary Lorraine
18Wilson; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Dennis Wilson is survived by his wife, Becky; his
20daughter, Denelle "Deni" Wilson; his grandson, Connor Andrew
21"Andy" Wilson; Logan Dowell; his sisters, Clara Taylor and
22Helen Barbee; and his many nieces and nephews; therefore, be
23it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
2ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
3Dennis L. Wilson and extend our sincere condolences to his
4family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
5further
 
6    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
7presented to the family of Dennis Wilson as an expression of
8our deepest sympathy.