Full Text of SR0421 93rd General Assembly
SR0421 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate were saddened | 3 |
| to learn of the death of Father Alcuin Deck, O.S.B., a founding | 4 |
| Benedictine monk of Marmion Abbey, on December 19, 2003; and | 5 |
| WHEREAS, Father Alcuin Deck was born in St. Louis, Missouri | 6 |
| on December 9, 1912; he was the eighth of nine children; he | 7 |
| professed vows as a Benedictine monk of St. Meinrad Abbey on | 8 |
| August 6, 1934; he was ordained a priest by The Most Rev. | 9 |
| Joseph E. Ritter Archbishop of Indianapolis, Indiana on May 30, | 10 |
| 1939; after working for a short time as Assistant Director of | 11 |
| the Oblate School for Brothers at St. Meinrad Abbey, he was | 12 |
| assigned as an instructor to Marmion Military Academy on August | 13 |
| 14, 1940; and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, Father Deck served on the faculty of Marmion | 15 |
| Academy in Aurora for the next 55 years; during those years, he | 16 |
| taught the sciences and Theology but is remembered for the many | 17 |
| years when he taught Latin; and | 18 |
| WHEREAS, The 91-year-old Benedictine monk spent his life | 19 |
| strictly living out the vows he made almost seven decades ago, | 20 |
| teaching and guiding hundreds of students through Marmion | 21 |
| Military Academy while at the same time acting as a spiritual | 22 |
| mentor for his fellow monks at Marmion Abbey; "The Duke", as he | 23 |
| was known, was a man who saw the world in black and white and | 24 |
| devoted himself to the pursuit of time-tested truths through | 25 |
| regimented self-discipline; and | 26 |
| WHEREAS, For more than 40 years, Father Deck worked as the | 27 |
| vice-postulator for the cause of beautification of Abbot | 28 |
| Columba Marmion, the Irish monk after whom the academy and | 29 |
| abbey are named; he lived to see Abbot Marmion receive the | 30 |
| honor in 2000 and was working the past few years toward his | 31 |
| canonization, the final step toward Catholic sainthood; and |
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| WHEREAS, Father Deck served his brother monks and the wider | 2 |
| Marmion family in many capacities including, Subprior, Master | 3 |
| of Novices, Director of College Guidance Counseling, and | 4 |
| Moderator of the Alumni Association; and | 5 |
| WHEREAS, Father Deck used sports to teach the boys at | 6 |
| Marmion about using their God-given gifts to the best of their | 7 |
| ability; he prayed with players before games, and when he | 8 |
| couldn't make it to sporting events, he called the coaches | 9 |
| later in the day to find out the results; his support of | 10 |
| Marmion's athletic teams was legendary; he was always found | 11 |
| cheering on the football team from his golf cart when the team | 12 |
| played at the Academy stadium; and | 13 |
| WHEREAS, After retiring several years ago, Father Deck | 14 |
| spent much of his time at the abbey and less time at the | 15 |
| academy, though he became known to the newest generation of | 16 |
| Marmion students simply as "The Duke", the monk who roamed the | 17 |
| sidelines at football games in a golf cart; some of them never | 18 |
| even knew his real name; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, Whether he was pushing for the sainthood of his | 20 |
| abbey's namesake or riding the sidelines of a football game on | 21 |
| the golf cart that bore his nickname, Father Alcuin Deck for | 22 |
| decades was the face of the Marmion community; and
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| WHEREAS, The passing of Father Alcuin Deck will be deeply | 24 |
| felt by many especially his nephew, Father Philip Kremer, | 25 |
| O.S.B.; and many more nieces and nephews; and
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| WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his parents; and all | 27 |
| eight of his siblings; therefore, be it | 28 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL | 29 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of |
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| Father Alcuin Deck, O.S.B., along with all who knew and loved | 2 |
| him and extend our sincere condolences to his family and | 3 |
| friends; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 5 |
| presented to the family of Father Alcuin Deck as an expression | 6 |
| of our deepest sympathy.
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