Full Text of SR1345 98th General Assembly
SR1345 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of Bruce Edward Saurs of East Peoria, who | 4 | | passed away on July 10, 2014; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Bruce Saurs was born on July 9, 1926 in Peoria to | 6 | | Edward and Gertrude Marie (nee Ambrose) Saurs; he graduated | 7 | | from Peoria High School in 1944 and Bradley University in 1949, | 8 | | where he was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity; he served in | 9 | | the United States Army Air Forces from 1945 to 1946, stationed | 10 | | in Wiesbaden, Germany; he also served in the Illinois Air | 11 | | National Guard, 169th Fighter Squadron from 1951 to 1954; he | 12 | | married Norma Bloom on October 17, 1952; after her passing he | 13 | | married Mary Whitman on June 10, 1999; after her passing he | 14 | | married Rebecca Williams on June 16, 2012; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, While still a student at Bradley University, Bruce | 16 | | Saurs coached Peoria's Lee Grade School to 4 city basketball | 17 | | titles against much larger schools; in 1951, he helped | 18 | | establish the first Little League Baseball program in Peoria, | 19 | | and, in 1955, he acted as a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates | 20 | | and was responsible for them signing Peoria's own Leon Hurst; | 21 | | and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, For 6 years, starting in 1949, Bruce Saurs was a |
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| 1 | | teacher at Peoria High School, where he also was an assistant | 2 | | basketball coach and head baseball coach; he entered the | 3 | | automobile industry in 1956 as a salesman, and by 1961, had | 4 | | worked his way up to general sales manager; in 1963, he went to | 5 | | work for Lynn Velde and became a partner in Velde Ford in 1965; | 6 | | they purchased Arnold Ford in Vero Beach, Florida in 1976; the | 7 | | partners started Velde Lincoln Volvo of Peoria in 1984, which | 8 | | was followed by Velde Cadillac Buick GMC in 1987; Bruce later | 9 | | opened the Corner Store on Main Street and Bruce Saurs' Black | 10 | | Rabbit bar, both in Downtown Peoria; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Bruce Saurs saved professional hockey in Peoria | 12 | | not once but twice, starting in 1989 with his purchase of the | 13 | | Rivermen from the city of Peoria; in 1996, he and a partner | 14 | | started an International Hockey League (IHL) franchise in San | 15 | | Antonio, Texas; both were manifestations of his lifelong love | 16 | | of athletics; he owned 2 professional hockey teams in 4 | 17 | | different leagues over 20 years; the Rivermen won the IHL's | 18 | | Turner Cup in 1991, along the way setting a professional hockey | 19 | | record with 18 consecutive wins; the Rivermen also earned an | 20 | | East Coast Hockey League title in 2000; the Peoria Rivermen | 21 | | player who exemplifies commitment and leadership both on and | 22 | | off the ice now receives the Bruce E. Saurs Leadership Award, | 23 | | and each Rivermen home opener is designated Bruce Saurs Hockey | 24 | | Night; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Among his many honors, Bruce Saurs was a recipient | 2 | | of the Neve Harms Meritorious Service to Sports Award and the | 3 | | United Cerebral Palsy Community Service Award, and he was | 4 | | inducted into the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame in 1996; | 5 | | he was a recipient of Bradley's Distinguished Alumnus Award and | 6 | | was named to the university's elite Centurion Society; he | 7 | | chaired the Salvation Army's Tree of Lights campaign, and he | 8 | | was grand marshal of Peoria's 2013 Santa Claus Parade; he was | 9 | | also a member of the Pekin and Mount Hawley country clubs and | 10 | | the Country Club of Peoria; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Bruce Saurs was preceded in death by his first | 12 | | wife, Norma, and by his second wife, Mary; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Bruce Saurs is survived by his wife, Rebecca; his | 14 | | sons, Michael Saurs, Tim (Lori) Saurs, and Scott (Suzette) | 15 | | Saurs; his grandchildren, Lynzie (Luke) Gruden, Stacie (Mike) | 16 | | Swingle, and Ryan (fiancee, Tara Kulkarni) Saurs; his | 17 | | great-grandchildren, Brady, Owen, and Gibby Gruden and Selah | 18 | | and Maya Swingle; his 2 stepsons, Brian (Elizabeth) Morris and | 19 | | Jason (Catherine) Morris; his step-grandchildren, Levi, | 20 | | Adeline, and James Morris; and his beloved dog, Coco; | 21 | | therefore, be it
| 22 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | 23 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of |
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| 1 | | Bruce Edward Saurs, and extend our sincere condolences to his | 2 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 3 | | further
| 4 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 5 | | presented to the family of Bruce Saurs as an expression of our | 6 | | deepest sympathy.
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