Full Text of SR1365 101st General Assembly
SR1365 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 Ray "Lou" 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 on January 10, 1932; he grew up on a small farm | 7 | | near Okay, Oklahoma; he played basketball at Okay High School, | 8 | | Connors State College, and New Mexico A&M; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Lou Henson pursued a coaching career after | 10 | | college; he served as a graduate assistant to his mentor | 11 | | Presley Askew; he later earned his master's degree and was | 12 | | offered a coaching job and a mathematics teaching position at | 13 | | Las Cruces High School (LCHS) in Las Cruces, New Mexico; after | 14 | | two years, he became the head coach while still teaching | 15 | | multiple math classes; his LCHS teams won three consecutive New | 16 | | Mexico State High School Championships; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Lou Henson was offered the head coach position at | 18 | | Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas; before accepting, | 19 | | he met with the Board of Trustees and noted that he would not | 20 | | accept the job until the school was integrated as there were no | 21 | | African Americans on campus either as student-athletes or | 22 | | faculty members at that time; after the board met overnight and |
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| 1 | | agreed to integrate, he launched his college coaching career at | 2 | | the age of 30; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, After coaching and serving as the athletic | 4 | | director three of the four years, Lou Henson was offered the | 5 | | head coaching position at his alma mater, New Mexico State | 6 | | University; within two years, he assumed the role of athletic | 7 | | director in addition to the head basketball coach position; he | 8 | | managed both jobs while playing a key role in the construction | 9 | | of the Pan American Center, a 13,000-seat multipurpose arena; | 10 | | he led the New Mexico State University Aggies to the Final Four | 11 | | in 1970, where they finished third; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Lou Henson began coaching at the University of | 13 | | Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1975; alongside his assistants | 14 | | Tony Yates and Les Wothke, he made it a priority to visit every | 15 | | high school in the State in order to foster positive | 16 | | relationships with Illinois high school basketball coaches; | 17 | | during that first year, he and his staff visited more than 400 | 18 | | high schools; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Lou Henson's efforts returned the University of | 20 | | Illinois basketball program to prominence, which culminated | 21 | | with the 1989 Final Four Flyin' Illini; his team was seldom | 22 | | outhustled or outworked; his Flyin' Illini were considered one | 23 | | of the most entertaining teams in collegiate basketball |
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| 1 | | history, capturing the hearts of Illini Nation and basketball | 2 | | fans everywhere; he retired from the University of Illinois in | 3 | | 1996 as the school's all-time winningest coach with 423 | 4 | | victories in 21 seasons; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Lou Henson returned to the New Mexico State | 6 | | University basketball program in the fall of 1997; after | 7 | | discussing the matter with his wife Mary, he consented to only | 8 | | coach for six months and stipulated that he receive no salary; | 9 | | at his request, New Mexico State University paid him one dollar | 10 | | per month to coach the Aggies for the first year, with his net | 11 | | pay being the grand sum of 75 cents; he was persuaded to | 12 | | continue coaching at New Mexico State University for the next | 13 | | six years; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Lou Henson has the distinction of being the coach | 15 | | with the most wins at both New Mexico State University and the | 16 | | University of Illinois; he was entered into the sports halls of | 17 | | fame at both universities, and their floors were named after | 18 | | him; he is also one of a handful of coaches that have guided | 19 | | two different teams to the Final Four; he was selected as a | 20 | | member of the NCAA Basketball Hall of Fame on February 17, | 21 | | 2015; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Lou Henson was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in | 23 | | 2003; he started aggressive treatment at Carle Cancer Center |
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| 1 | | and MD Anderson Cancer Center; although his cancer was in | 2 | | remission, he contracted viral encephalitis one year later; he | 3 | | was treated at the MountainView Regional Medical Center and | 4 | | later at the Texas Rehabilitation Center; he returned home in a | 5 | | wheelchair due to paralysis and other trauma; although he | 6 | | worked tirelessly to walk again, the encephalitis impacted his | 7 | | balance; by last count, he had fallen over 150 times with only | 8 | | one serious injury; he never complained about any of his health | 9 | | issues; he was thankful to have survived the cancer and | 10 | | encephalitis and incredibly grateful for his health care | 11 | | providers; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Lou Henson is synonymous with University of | 13 | | Illinois basketball as it is impossible to discuss the | 14 | | university's basketball program without mentioning him; he was | 15 | | a coach who based his programs on strict discipline, which many | 16 | | of his former players credit for the success they achieved | 17 | | after their playing days; his humble demeanor, kindness, and | 18 | | tremendous character will never be forgotten; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Lou Henson was preceded in death by his son, Louis | 20 | | Ray Henson Jr.; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Lou Henson is survived by his wife of 65 years, | 22 | | Mary Catherine Brantner Henson; his three daughters, Lori Jo | 23 | | Henson, Lisa Rose (John) Rutter, and Leigh Anne (Coit) Edison; |
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| 1 | | his 12 grandchildren; his seven great-grandchildren; and his | 2 | | numerous nieces and nephews; therefore, be it
| 3 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 4 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 5 | | Louis Ray "Lou" Henson and extend our sincere condolences to | 6 | | his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 7 | | further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 | | presented to the family of Lou Henson as an expression of our | 10 | | deepest sympathy.
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