Full Text of SR1364 101st General Assembly
SR1364 101ST 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 Louis "Lou" Ray Henson, who passed away | 4 | | on July 25, 2020; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Lou Henson was born to Joe Henson and Lora Faye | 6 | | Falconer Henson near Okay, Oklahoma on January 10, 1932; he | 7 | | played basketball at Okay High School, Connors State College, | 8 | | and New Mexico A&M; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Inspired by his coaches, Lou Henson pursued a | 10 | | career in coaching; after college, he served as graduate | 11 | | assistant to his mentor, Connors State College Basketball Coach | 12 | | Presley Askew, and was offered the "B" team coaching job and a | 13 | | mathematics teaching position at Las Cruces High after earning | 14 | | his master's degree; after two years, he became the head coach | 15 | | while still teaching multiple math classes; his LCHS teams won | 16 | | three consecutive New Mexico State High School Championships | 17 | | and a fourth year saw them in the quarterfinals; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, In 1962, Hardin Simmons University (Division I at | 19 | | that time) in Abilene, Texas offered Lou Henson the head coach | 20 | | position; before accepting, he met with the school's board and | 21 | | explained that he would not accept the job until the school was | 22 | | integrated; the board met overnight and agreed to integrate, |
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| 1 | | launching his college coaching career at age 30; achieving | 2 | | integration at Hardin Simons University was one of the proudest | 3 | | moments of his career; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, After coaching and serving as athletic director at | 5 | | Hardin Simmons University for a few years, Lou Henson was | 6 | | offered the head coaching position at his alma mater, New | 7 | | Mexico State University; in their very first season, the Aggies | 8 | | drew national attention by twice defeating the defending NCAA | 9 | | champions, Texas Western (UTEP), as well as the third-ranked | 10 | | New Mexico Lobos;
within two years, he assumed the role of | 11 | | athletic director in addition to the head basketball job; he | 12 | | managed both jobs while playing a key role in the construction | 13 | | of the Pan American Center, a 13,000-seat multipurpose arena; | 14 | | in 1970, he led the Aggies to the Final Four, finishing third | 15 | | after being defeated by defending champions UCLA; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Lou Henson began coaching at the University of | 17 | | Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1975; he retired from the | 18 | | University of Illinois in 1996 as the school's most successful | 19 | | coach with 423 victories in 21 seasons; his vision to rebuild | 20 | | the Illinois program was made possible through the hard work | 21 | | and dedication of his assistant coaches, Dick Nagy, Jimmy | 22 | | Collins, and Mark Coomes; returning the Illinois basketball | 23 | | program to prominence culminated with the 1989 Final Four | 24 | | Flyin' Illini; many believe that this team would have won the |
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| 1 | | national title had it not been for player injuries during the | 2 | | tournament; the Flyin' Illini were considered one of the most | 3 | | entertaining teams in collegiate basketball history and | 4 | | captured the hearts of Illini Nation and basketball fans | 5 | | everywhere; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, In the fall of 1997, Lou Henson once again assumed | 7 | | leadership of the New Mexico State University basketball | 8 | | program; at his request, New Mexico State paid him only one | 9 | | dollar per month to coach the Aggies; he coached at NMSU for | 10 | | the next six years, after initially securing his wife Mary's | 11 | | approval to coach for "only six months";
and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, In 2003, Lou Henson was diagnosed with stage four | 13 | | cancer; aggressive treatment was started, and although his | 14 | | cancer was in remission, one year later he contracted viral | 15 | | encephalitis; he was determined to return to the court, even if | 16 | | he had to coach from his wheelchair; the day before he was | 17 | | scheduled to take the court again, he was hospitalized with | 18 | | pneumonia, which ultimately ended his coaching career; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Lou Henson kept physically active by swimming, | 20 | | lifting weights, and walking; he enjoyed playing bridge, both | 21 | | at home and at the local bridge center, gin, and checkers; as | 22 | | his health declined, he remained a fierce competitor; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Lou Henson was preceded in death by his parents; | 2 | | his son, Louis Ray Henson Jr.; and his siblings, Alma, Bill, | 3 | | Jimmy Joe, J.D., and Donald; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Lou Henson is survived by his wife, Mary Catherine | 5 | | Brantner Henson; his three daughters, Lori Jo Henson, Lisa Rose | 6 | | (John) Rutter, and Leigh Anne (Coit) Edison; his siblings, Rose | 7 | | and Kenneth; his 12 grandchildren; his seven | 8 | | great-grandchildren; and his numerous nieces and nephews; | 9 | | therefore, be it
| 10 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 11 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
| 12 | | Louis "Lou" Ray Henson and extend our sincere
condolences to | 13 | | his family, friends, and all who knew and loved
him; and be it | 14 | | further
| 15 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
| 16 | | presented to the family of Lou Henson as an expression of
our | 17 | | deepest sympathy.
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