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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3to learn of the death of John "Chief AJ" Huffer of Tuscola, who
4passed away on March 30, 2022; and
 
5    WHEREAS, John Huffer was born in Peoria on December 25,
61937 in the Florence Crittenton Home for Unwed Mothers, the
7child of a Cherokee father and a Menominee mother; six months
8later, he was adopted by Charles and Dorothy Busey Huffer; he
9graduated from Urbana High School in 1955 and attended the
10University of Illinois for one semester before joining the
11U.S. Marine Corps; he was stationed in California and, during
12that time, he shot on the Barstow Base rifle team and became a
13body builder; after he was honorably discharged, he returned
14to the University of Illinois, where he was a member of the
15ROTC rifle team and was recruited to be a model for art
16students; he married Corinne Shreve on July 26, 1959; and
 
17    WHEREAS, John Huffer graduated from Bible college and was
18inspired to start a boys home, which brought him back to
19Tuscola; the boys home eventually changed to an assisted
20living home; then, with partners, he opened the We Care
21Nursing Home in Arcola as well as hotel restaurants in Arcola
22and Mattoon; he eventually joined the carpenters union in
23Champaign-Urbana; he later was a contractor and had dinner in

 

 

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1the White House with Ronald Reagan as Minority Contractor of
2the Year; and
 
3    WHEREAS, John Huffer was a scrawny kid; he wanted to start
4weight training at an early age, but his parents made him learn
5all the muscles before they allowed him to get a dumbbell set;
6he eventually competed in Mr. America twice and numerous other
7body building competitions; he represented Tuscola in the
8Super Natural Physique Classic in 2001, where he won
9first-place in the Master 55 and over; and
 
10    WHEREAS, John Huffer shot a world record of 14,060 wood
11blocks without a miss over an eight-day period in March 1987;
12he subsequently landed on the cover of gun magazines, which
13launched his journey of fame in the gun world; he later
14developed the Chief AJ Slingbow, which has been sold all over
15the world; he appeared on a number of reality TV shows,
16including Top Shot, Man vs Machine, Monster Hunters, and
17History's Mysteries; and
 
18    WHEREAS, John Huffer had a great love for his family; he
19took his wife, Corinne, all over the country to gun shows and
20national parks; he spent time in Alaska for the birth of his
21grandchildren and graduations, and then he would be off on
22Alaskan hunting adventures; he was blessed to have his
23granddaughter, Tara, and her family stay with him for the last

 

 

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1month of his life and developed a beautiful bond with his
27-month-old great-grandson, Noah; and
 
3    WHEREAS, John Huffer was committed to his faith and
4enjoyed preaching; at 80 years old, through DNA testing, he
5was blessed to be united with his biological brother, Theodore
6Yednock; and
 
7    WHEREAS, John Huffer was preceded in death by his wife of
862 years, Corinne; his father, Charles C. Huffer; his mother,
9Dorothy Busey Huffer; his sister, Mary Huffer Hickman; and his
10granddaughter, Stephanie Corinne Huffer; and
 
11    WHEREAS, John Huffer is survived by his son, Jason
12(Janice) Huffer; his daughter, Rebekah (Vince) Baldauf; his
13grandchildren, Benjamin Burton, Tara Huffer (Lawrence),
14CoWanda Joy Huffer, Dottie (Cody), and John Baldauf; and his
15great-grandsons, Bastian Skye Burton and Noah Lawrence
16Moshofsky Huffer; therefore, be it
 
17    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
18ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
19John "Chief AJ" Huffer, U.S. Marine, bodybuilder, preacher,
20exhibition shooter, and entrepreneur, and extend our sincere
21condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved
22him; and be it further
 

 

 

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