SR0592 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0592 LRB097 20106 KXB 65484 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Thomas Getz of Moline, who passed away on January 15, 2012; and

WHEREAS, He was born October 17, 1927, in Moline, to Harry W. and Carolyn (Ainsworth) Getz; he attended Moline schools through his high school sophomore year and graduated from Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio, in 1945; he graduated from Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1950, with a degree in economics; he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in 1943 and later received the Silver Beaver Award and served as a vice president of Area 3 BSA; and

WHEREAS, He married Karen F. Hartman on December 26, 1973, in Arlington Heights; he served as an ensign in the United States Coast Guard during the Korean War from 1951 to 1953, as a communications and deck watch officer on the 311-foot cutter Bering Strait out of Seattle; he returned to Moline in February 1953, and was employed by Williams, White & Company; in 1957, he started working part-time at Moline Forge and was in charge of finance; in 1963, he became president of Moline Forge and was in charge of general operations while still remaining an officer in Williams, White & Company; and

WHEREAS, He was active in community organizations and causes; he was involved in the Two Rivers YMCA as board president and was later the chairman of its Board of Trustees; he was chairman of the 1968 campaign to raise over $2 million in capital funds to build the new YMCA on 53rd Street in Moline; he also received the YMCA's Life-Time Achievement Award; he was a past president of the Illowa Council of the Boy Scouts of America; he was also the first president of Quad-City Arts when it was founded in 1988 and remained as treasurer for many years; and

WHEREAS, He served as chairman of the Bettendorf Civil Service Commission, on the advisory council for the Quad-City Salvation Army, was past Commodore of the White Lake Yacht Club in Whitehall, Michigan, was named Boss of the Year by the American Business Women's Association, served as co-chair for the Christian Friendliness Capital Campaign, and served on the Board of Trustees for Rivermont Collegiate School in Bettendorf; he was a past board member of Augustana College; he also served on the Board for The United Way, where he served as chairman and was president of various committees; and

WHEREAS, He was on the Board of the Forging Industry Association, the Illinois Humanities Council, the Quad-Cities Regional Economic Development Authority, Renew Moline, and First Federal Savings and Loan in Davenport; he was a past president of The Forging Industry Association, City Treasurer of Bettendorf for 10 years, and received the Distinguished Philanthropy Award from the National Society of Fund Raising Executives and the William B. Foster Community Volunteer Award by the Modern Woodman of America in 1999; he was inducted into the Junior Achievement QC Business Hall of Fame; he was among the business leaders responsible for bringing about the I wireless Center, the John Deere Commons, and all of the development that has been built up in downtown Moline as a result of the public/private partnership between the city and Renew Moline; and

WHEREAS, He served as the Chairman of the Rock Island Republican Party; he was a supporter of Skip-A-Long Day Care, the Renew Moline Boys and Girls Club, Junior Achievement, and the former Quad-Cities Development Group; he was also a supporter of the Quad-City Arts Annual Festival of Trees, the Quad-City Symphony Orchestra, Arrowhead Ranch, the Family Museum, and Putnam Museum; and

WHEREAS, In 2008, the Association of Fundraising Professionals Q-C chapter gave him the Distinguished Service to Philanthropy Award; for many years, he served as a member of the Distinguished Clown Corps in the Quad-City Arts Thanksgiving Parade; and he established the Moline Fund in memory of his late wife; and

WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his wife, Karen; his 5 brothers; his 3 sisters; and his first wife, Diana Barrott Mannon; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Getz is survived by his children, Dr. Thomas Getz and his wife, Margaret Burrows-Getz, Bettina (Tina) Getz and her husband, William Judge, and Christopher Getz; his grandchildren, Meghan Metzger and her husband, Michael, Lara Getz, Eli Judge and Caitlin (Casey) Judge, and Skyler Getz and Jacob (Jake) Getz; his sister, Carol Bartholomew; his beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins; and his longtime assistant, Tiffany Erichsen; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Thomas Getz; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Thomas Getz as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.