Full Text of SR1765 99th General Assembly
SR1765 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | SR1765 | | LRB099 21473 GRL 47638 r |
|
| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of W. Charles Witte of Bloomington, who | 4 | | passed away on April 10, 2016; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, W. Charles Witte was born on September 21, 1941 in | 6 | | Chicago; his parents were Dr. William B. and Caroline Hess | 7 | | Witte; he married Donna Vera Skrinskus on October 12, 1968; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, W. Charles Witte graduated from Bloomington High | 9 | | School in 1959; he was drafted in the United States Army in | 10 | | 1966, graduated from the United States Army Officer Candidate | 11 | | School in Fort Benning, Georgia in 1967, and served as an | 12 | | Intelligence Officer in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968, where he | 13 | | taught English to Vietnamese school teachers, and taught | 14 | | interrogation at the United States Army Intelligence School in | 15 | | Fort Holabird, Maryland from 1968 to 1969; he graduated from | 16 | | Illinois State University in 1971, where he served as President | 17 | | of the Student Body from 1970 to 1971 and initiated the Student | 18 | | Legal Services Program; he later received his Juris Doctor from | 19 | | the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1975; he was also | 20 | | a 1980 graduate of the National Judicial College and a 1982 | 21 | | graduate of the National College of Juvenile and Family Court | 22 | | Judges; and |
| | | SR1765 | - 2 - | LRB099 21473 GRL 47638 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, After college, W. Charles Witte returned to | 2 | | Bloomington and practiced law with the firm of Pratt, Larkin, | 3 | | Witte, and Sternberg, P.C. from 1975 until he was appointed | 4 | | Associate Circuit Judge in December of 1978; he was | 5 | | subsequently elected as McLean County Resident Circuit Judge in | 6 | | November of 1988 and retained as a Circuit Judge in 1994 and | 7 | | 2000; he retired from the bench in December of 2001; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, W. Charles Witte was appointed by the Illinois | 9 | | Supreme Court to chair the state-wide Judicial Education | 10 | | Conference from 1986 to 1988; he served as faculty member for | 11 | | numerous Judicial Conference and Illinois State Bar | 12 | | Association Education Programs; he was a member of the | 13 | | American, Illinois, and McLean County Bar Associations and the | 14 | | Illinois Trial Lawyers Association; he was also a founding | 15 | | member and President (2000-2001) of the Robert C. Underwood | 16 | | American Inn of Court; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, In 1980, W. Charles Witte developed and for 20 | 18 | | years taught a Criminal Justice Education Program for over | 19 | | 1,800 sixth grade students visiting his courtroom each year; | 20 | | the presentation has been used as a model by other judicial | 21 | | circuits; and | 22 | | WHEREAS, W. Charles Witte was an active Bloomington Kiwanis | 23 | | Club member for 38 years, serving as the organization's |
| | | SR1765 | - 3 - | LRB099 21473 GRL 47638 r |
|
| 1 | | President in 1985 and 1986 and the recipient of the George F. | 2 | | Hixon Award in 1998; he served as a member of the BroMenn | 3 | | Healthcare Board of Directors for 9 years and was the | 4 | | organization's Chairman from 2000 to 2003; he served as a | 5 | | member of the Bloomington Country Club Board of Directors for 6 | 6 | | years; he served on the Illinois State University Foundation | 7 | | Board for 19 years and was the organization's Vice-Chair from | 8 | | 1982 to 1988; he served on the ISU Alumni Association Board for | 9 | | 20 years and was the organization's President from 1975 to | 10 | | 1977; he also served on the Bloomington Fire and Police | 11 | | Commission from 2008 to 2015 and a board member of the Illinois | 12 | | Wesleyan Associates; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, W. Charles Witte was awarded the E. Burton Mercier | 14 | | Alumni Service Award in 1998 and was inducted into the BHS Hall | 15 | | of Fame in 2007; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, W. Charles Witte was a member of Second | 17 | | Presbyterian Church for over 50 years; he served as an usher, | 18 | | trustee, elder, and senior high camp counselor; he also served | 19 | | as a board member of the Immanuel Bible Foundation for over 20 | 20 | | years and was the organization's President from 2005 to 2011; | 21 | | and | 22 | | WHEREAS, W. Charles Witte was an avid cyclist and enjoyed | 23 | | countless rides with his friends, including the Youstabees; he |
| | | SR1765 | - 4 - | LRB099 21473 GRL 47638 r |
|
| 1 | | looked forward to meeting every week with his Wednesday morning | 2 | | breakfast group; he also loved living in and taking care of | 3 | | Spring Ridge and spending time with his grandchildren; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, W. Charles Witte was preceded in death by his | 5 | | parents; his brother, Dr. Craig H. Witte; and his sister, Jo | 6 | | Karyl Berens; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, W. Charles Witte is survived by his wife, Donna; | 8 | | his daughters, Drs. Alison Jane (Keith Anthony) Gildehaus and | 9 | | Elizabeth Ann (Joseph Donald) Edmondson; his grandchildren, | 10 | | Katelyn Reese, Emerson Lane Gildehaus, and William David and | 11 | | John Charles Edmondson; his nephews, Christopher (Beckie) | 12 | | Witte and Adam (Candice Smith) Witte; his nieces, Sally Berens | 13 | | (Ryan Postma) and their children, Dries and Silas, Nelltj | 14 | | (Brian) Prosise, and Abra Berens (Erik Hall); and his | 15 | | brother-in-law, Dr. Lee Berens; therefore, be it
| 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | 17 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with his | 18 | | family and friends, mourn the passing of W. Charles Witte; and | 19 | | be it further
| 20 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 21 | | presented to the family of W. Charles Witte as an expression of | 22 | | our sympathy.
|
|