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| | SR0387 | | LRB103 33208 LAW 63015 r |
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1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened |
3 | | to learn of the death of Larry A. Werries, who passed away on |
4 | | July 7, 2023; and
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5 | | WHEREAS, Larry Werries was born to Leland and Virginia |
6 | | Rice Werries of Chapin on March 26, 1940; he attended Chapin |
7 | | Grade School; he was confirmed at St. Paul's Lutheran Church |
8 | | in Chapin in 1954; he graduated from Chapin High School in |
9 | | 1958; he earned a degree in agriculture business from the |
10 | | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1962, where he |
11 | | pledged Sigma Chi Fraternity and was named All-IM in |
12 | | intramural basketball; he served in the U.S. Army Reserves |
13 | | beginning in 1962, receiving Basic Training and Advanced |
14 | | Infantry Training at Ft. Polk, Louisiana, followed by five and |
15 | | a half years in the Active Reserves; and
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16 | | WHEREAS, Larry Werries farmed with his father and brother, |
17 | | John, in Chapin and Concord for nearly 20 years; during his |
18 | | time as a farmer, the Werries farm operation grew |
19 | | exponentially, adding purchased and rented land and increasing |
20 | | confinement reared swine until reaching a number of 6,000 per |
21 | | year; his family farm was among the pioneers in Morgan County |
22 | | for confinement production of swine; and
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1 | | WHEREAS, Larry Werries was appointed as director of the |
2 | | Illinois Department of Agriculture by Governor James R. |
3 | | Thompson in March 1981; during his tenure, which lasted nearly |
4 | | nine years, he was elected to the position of chairman of the |
5 | | Midwest Directors before serving two terms as president of the |
6 | | National Association of State Departments of Agriculture; |
7 | | while director, the T by 2000 Program was initiated, which |
8 | | resulted in several millions of dollars appropriated to Soil |
9 | | and Water Conservation Districts for cost share practices to |
10 | | implement conservation structures; he also led a number of |
11 | | trade promotion exchanges to China, Europe, Canada, and |
12 | | Mexico; for his service, the Illinois Department of |
13 | | Agriculture was presented the Presidential "E" Award for |
14 | | Excellence in Promoting Exports by President Ronald Reagan in |
15 | | October 1982; and
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16 | | WHEREAS, Beginning in October 1, 1989, Larry Werries |
17 | | served as director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the U.S. |
18 | | Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D.C. for a |
19 | | brief term during the first Bush administration, acting as a |
20 | | liaison between the USDA and units of state and local |
21 | | government; and
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22 | | WHEREAS, Larry Werries then moved to the Chicago area and |
23 | | served as alderman for the Village of Oakbrook Terrace; he was |
24 | | a member of Chicago Farmers and served on an advisory |
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1 | | committee for the Chicago School of Agricultural Sciences; he |
2 | | was also a team member of a consulting group, which submitted a |
3 | | privatization plan for agricultural enterprises in Poland |
4 | | after the fall of Communism in that country, and the results of |
5 | | the study were presented to the World Bank after an extended |
6 | | visit to Warsaw and farms in the Baltic area; and
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7 | | WHEREAS, Larry Werries eventually returned to the |
8 | | Jacksonville area, where he joined the REMAX Agency as a |
9 | | realtor specializing in farm and commercial transactions; upon |
10 | | retirement from real estate sales, he served as a consultant |
11 | | to the American Farmland Trust in Washington, D.C., where he |
12 | | was appointed as project coordinator for the Lake Mauvaise |
13 | | Terre Project and was in charge of allocating U.S. |
14 | | Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funds to farmers in the |
15 | | watershed for cost sharing of conservation practices; and
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16 | | WHEREAS, Larry Werries remained active in alumni affairs |
17 | | at the University of Illinois (U of I), becoming a life member |
18 | | of the U of I Alumni Association and serving as president of |
19 | | the Ag Alumni Association; for his service and dedication, he |
20 | | received the Loyalty Award, The Round Barn Society Award, the |
21 | | Board of Directors Appreciation Award, and the prestigious |
22 | | Award of Merit for distinguished ag alums; he was also a member |
23 | | of the President's Council and the U of I Foundation; he and |
24 | | his wife were longtime donors to the Jonathan Baldwin Turner |
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1 | | academic scholarship for students pursuing agricultural |
2 | | degrees at the U of I; and
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3 | | WHEREAS, Larry Werries belonged to several organizations, |
4 | | including Sigma Chi Fraternity as a life member, Elks Lodge |
5 | | 682, The American Legion, and the Morgan County Farm Bureau; |
6 | | he was the former president of the Morgan County Pork |
7 | | Producers and the Triopia Athletic Boosters; he was a past |
8 | | member of the Passavant Hospital Board of Trustees; he was a |
9 | | lifelong member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in rural Chapin, |
10 | | serving as head usher, elder, congregational chairman, high |
11 | | school Bible class teacher, and youth group sponsor; he was |
12 | | awarded the Jacksonville Area Chamber's Agricultural Hall of |
13 | | Fame Award in 2000; he and Becky supported a number of |
14 | | non-profits in the Jacksonville area; and
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15 | | WHEREAS, Larry Werries enjoyed golfing at Northridge Hills |
16 | | and Jacksonville Country Club, where he was a longtime member |
17 | | and served a term on the board of directors; he was an avid St. |
18 | | Louis Cardinals fan and a baseball fan in general; he and Becky |
19 | | followed the athletic activities of the U of I, Michigan State |
20 | | University, Jacksonville High School, and Triopia; he and |
21 | | Becky spent winters at The Villages in Florida or Palm Desert |
22 | | in Southern California for several years after marrying in |
23 | | 2011; and
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1 | | WHEREAS, Larry Werries was preceded in death by his |
2 | | parents; and
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3 | | WHEREAS, Larry Werries is survived by his wife, Becky; his |
4 | | son, Neil (Gabriela) Werries, and their son, Henry, and |
5 | | grandson, Drew Ater; his daughter, Kristen (Paul) Werries |
6 | | Collier, and their sons, Tate, Holden, and Vaughn; Becky's |
7 | | daughter, Elizabeth (Doug) Matthews Stull; his brothers, |
8 | | Martin (Beverly) Werries and John (Ruth) Werries; his sister, |
9 | | Ruth (Greg) Geiger; his former wife, Donna Savage; and several |
10 | | nieces, nephews, and cousins; therefore, be it
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11 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL |
12 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of |
13 | | Larry A. Werries and extend our sincere condolences to his |
14 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it |
15 | | further
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16 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
17 | | presented to the family of Larry Werries as an expression of |
18 | | our deepest sympathy.
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