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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3 learn of the death of Melvin E. "Mel" Dunn of Marco Island,
4 Florida, formerly of Geneva, who passed away on January 7,
5 2007; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Melvin Dunn was born October 31, 1933, in Chicago;
7 he was orphaned at age six and was raised by various relatives;
8 he attended St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School, Quigley
9 South Seminary, Hyde Park High School, the University of
10 Illinois at Navy Pier, Roosevelt University and Kent Law
11 School; after serving with the Coast Guard during the Korean
12 War he earned a living as a salesman and eventually launched
13 his own private investigation agency where his quick wit and
14 street-wise savvy made him the preferred P.I. of several top
15 law firms; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Following graduation from Kent Law School in 1971,
17 he was employed by a respected Chicago law firm and became the
18 chief investigator for the Illinois Attorney General's Fraud
19 Division; in 1972, Mel was united in marriage to Judith
20 Wilkinson Vester; and
 
21     WHEREAS, He opened his own law firm and soon a dream come
22 true when in 1982 he became a judge; he was a diligent

 

 

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1 volunteer for Mutual Ground, Aurora; he and his wife hosted
2 many foreign exchange students and opened their home to many
3 other children; he taught paralegal classes at Elgin Community
4 College and was a much sought after guest speaker for many
5 community causes and events; in 1986 he ran a hotly contested
6 campaign for a seat as a Circuit Judge and won by a large
7 margin; the motto of his campaign, "Let Justice be Dunn" became
8 the credo of his judicial career; in addition to working in all
9 the courts the Sixteenth Judicial District, he was Chief of the
10 Family Law Division and the Chancery Division; and
 
11     WHEREAS, In 1998, Mel retired from the bench; in 2001, he
12 and Jude moved to the present family home on Marco Island,
13 Florida; he was a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial
14 Lawyers, a member of the Family Law Council of the Illinois
15 State Bar Association, and the Kane County Bar Association; he
16 was a founder of the Elburn Business Council, a member of the
17 Elburn Lion's Club, and parade chairman of the Elburn Days
18 Parade; he was an enthusiastic member of the Marco Lutheran
19 Church, the church choir, and the Marco Men's Club; and
 
20     WHEREAS, Melvin Dunn is survived by his wife, Jude; his
21 daughters, Lori (Michael) Dunn-Reier and Andrea (Brian)
22 Johanson; his sons, Rick (Toni Keller) Vester, Jonathan (Judy
23 Johns) Vester, and G. Adam (Tina Schuck) Vester; his thirteen
24 grandchildren, Lori's: Jessica (Eric) Staponkus and Malia and

 

 

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1 Briana; Rick's: Ryan and Sarah; Jonathan's: David Vester,
2 Heather Johns and Matthew Johns; Adam's: Kylie Vester;
3 Andrea's: Luke, Abbie, Noah, Nehemiah; his three
4 great-grandchildren, Jessica's: Elise and Alex; Heather's:
5 Kaylee; his three former foreign exchanges students who remain
6 like sons and daughters, Christina "Nina" (Dr. Gerhardt)
7 Fliedner, Lars (Susanne) Johanhage, and Christian (Claudia)
8 Schmaus; his two half-sisters, Jane Dunn and "Wish" (Greg)
9 Sims; his many nieces and nephews; his brother-in-law, Richard
10 "Dick" (fiancée: Yvonne Crane) Wilkinson; and a "family of
11 friends" across the country and around the world; he is
12 preceded in death by his parents; his mother and father-in-law,
13 Robert and R. Adele Wilkinson; his two sisters-in-law, Lillian
14 Wilkinson and Judy Kelly; and his two brothers-in-law, Robert
15 Wilkinson Jr. and Roger Wilkinson; therefore, be it
 
16     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL
17 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
18 his family and friends, the passing of Melvin E. "Mel" Dunn;
19 and be it further
 
20     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
21 presented to the family of Melvin E. "Mel" Dunn as a symbol of
22 our sincere sympathy.