Full Text of SR0427 102nd General Assembly
SR0427 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | 3 | | to learn of the death of Aydin O. Gonulsen of Shipman, who | 4 | | passed away on July 6, 2021; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Aydin Gonulsen was born in Izmir, Turkey to | 6 | | Muharrem and Ulviye (Hasyigin) Gonulsen on February 15, 1943; | 7 | | he immigrated to the United States in 1963; he attended Warren | 8 | | Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina, where he was a | 9 | | two-time junior college All-American soccer player and set the | 10 | | school record for goals scored in a season; he then | 11 | | transferred to Pikeville College in Kentucky; he married Suna | 12 | | Uslu on January 15, 2008; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Alongside his brother Yavuz, Aydin Gonulsen was | 14 | | instrumental in starting the YMCA soccer program in | 15 | | Springfield in the 1970s, and their efforts were critical in | 16 | | launching the modern-day soccer community in central Illinois; | 17 | | he became the first athletic director and head soccer coach at | 18 | | Sangamon State University (SSU) in 1976, where he built the | 19 | | soccer program from the ground up; with the assistance of a | 20 | | group of student athletes, he also placed the sod on the first | 21 | | SSU soccer field; he led SSU and later the University of | 22 | | Illinois-Springfield to 400 career victories and three | 23 | | National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) |
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| 1 | | national championships in 1986, 1988, and 1993; his teams | 2 | | appeared in more than 20 NAIA national tournaments and in two | 3 | | World Collegiate Soccer Championships, including a 2-1 win | 4 | | over former NCAA champion UCLA in 1988; he retired in 2001; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Aydin Gonulsen took over the men's and women's | 6 | | soccer teams at Blackburn College in 2007; he helped | 7 | | revitalize both programs and won 71 games, with the men's team | 8 | | scoring 48 victories and the women's team achieving 23 wins; | 9 | | he retired in 2013; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Aydin Gonulsen was named Coach of the Year by the | 11 | | National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics twice; he | 12 | | was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2000, the | 13 | | Springfield Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, and the University of | 14 | | Illinois-Springfield Hall of Fame in 2014; he was also a | 15 | | member of the Warren Wilson College Hall of Fame; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Aydin Gonulsen loved skiing, waterskiing, and | 17 | | traveling to see family in the United States and Turkey; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Aydin Gonulsen was preceded in death by his | 19 | | parents; his daughter, Katherine Gonulsen; five brothers; and | 20 | | one sister; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Aydin Gonulsen is survived by his wife; his |
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| 1 | | daughters, Peri (Mitch) Pugh and Amanda Gonulsen, and their | 2 | | mother, Mimi Rutherford Gonulsen; his grandson, Sebastian | 3 | | Aydin Pugh; and his brother, Akin (Ilkay) Gonulsen; therefore, | 4 | | be it
| 5 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 6 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 7 | | Aydin O. Gonulsen and extend our sincere condolences to his | 8 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 9 | | further
| 10 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 11 | | presented to the family of Aydin Gonulsen as an expression of | 12 | | our deepest sympathy.
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