Full Text of SR0987 103rd General Assembly
SR0987 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | SR0987 | | LRB103 40608 MST 73264 r |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION | 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | 3 | | to learn of the death of Judith A. "Judy" (Ahlquist) Mayer of | 4 | | Rock Island, who passed away on April 26, 2024; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Judy Mayer was born in Marianna, Florida to | 6 | | Gerald and Vivyonne (Ekstrum) Ahlquist on July 24, 1945; her | 7 | | father served as a navigation instructor for the U.S. Army Air | 8 | | Corps following a decorated tour in Europe, and her mother | 9 | | served as a nurse; after the war, her family moved back to | 10 | | Minnesota; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Judy Mayer and her younger sister grew up in St. | 12 | | Cloud, Minnesota, where her father taught at St. Cloud State | 13 | | College; she graduated from St. Cloud Tech High School, then, | 14 | | following in her mother's footsteps, she enrolled in nursing | 15 | | school at Mounds-Midway School of Nursing; two years later, | 16 | | her family moved to Aurora, and her father taught at Aurora | 17 | | College, where she enrolled; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Judy Mayer graduated with a bachelor's degree in | 19 | | history in 1968; during this time, she met Gregory A. Mayer, a | 20 | | fellow history major, and they were married on December 27, | 21 | | 1969 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Warrenville; once married, | 22 | | they lived in St. Paul, Minnesota while Greg attended |
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| 1 | | Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary, and they welcomed | 2 | | their son Gregory Allen James Mayer; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Judy Mayer and Greg moved to pastoral calls at | 4 | | ELCA churches in Milledgeville (Trinity Lutheran), Sandwich | 5 | | (Salem Lutheran), and Rock Island (First Lutheran) before Greg | 6 | | retired in 2014; after his retirement, they became active | 7 | | members of St. John's Lutheran Church in Rock Island; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Judy Mayer had a passion for genealogy and | 9 | | volunteered for many years at the Swenson Swedish Immigration | 10 | | Research Center at Augustana College; she was fiercely proud | 11 | | of her Swedish ancestry and family lineage; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Judy Mayer loved her family, including her many | 13 | | cousins, second cousins, and first and second cousins once | 14 | | removed; she was especially proud of her grandchildren, Conrad | 15 | | and Katherine Mayer, whom she asked after and talked about | 16 | | many times during her final illness; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Judy Mayer had a passion for traveling; she went | 18 | | multiple times to Sweden and Germany, as well as to Denmark, | 19 | | Norway, Ireland, and the United Kingdom; she spent more time | 20 | | in graveyards and pouring over church records than most | 21 | | tourists, and she also loved spending time with family and | 22 | | friends in Minnesota and Wisconsin; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Judy Mayer loved many cats throughout her life, | 2 | | too many to list individually, but it started with Linda Cat, | 3 | | her childhood pet in Minnesota; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Judy Mayer's strong Christian faith made her a | 5 | | supporter of social justice and progressive causes; she was a | 6 | | loyal Democrat, as attested to by the many yard signs she | 7 | | displayed at election time, and, while she was in no way a | 8 | | political strategist, she enjoyed volunteering, especially on | 9 | | her son's campaigns for state and local office; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Judy Mayer enjoyed entertaining her friends and | 11 | | family and loved having them gather for formal holiday dinners | 12 | | and informal gatherings in her back yard; she loved helping | 13 | | her daughter organize events for the residents of Friendship | 14 | | Manor in Rock Island; she and Greg also opened their home in | 15 | | Sandwich to students from the Illinois Math & Science Academy | 16 | | (IMSA) and served as a Rotary International host family, | 17 | | developing life-long friendships with IMSA students from | 18 | | across Illinois and with German exchange student, Markus | 19 | | Kruger; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Judy Mayer was preceded in death by her parents, | 21 | | Gerald and Vivyonne Ahlquist; her brother-in-law, David | 22 | | Beagley; her sister-in-law, Linda Mayer; and her niece, Maggie |
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| 1 | | Mayer; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Judy Mayer is survived by her husband, Rev. Greg | 3 | | Mayer; her children, Kristine Mayer and G. Allen (Carey) | 4 | | Mayer; her grandchildren, Conrad and Katherine Mayer; her | 5 | | sister, Janice Beagley; her brothers-in-law, David Mayer, | 6 | | Jeffrey Mayer, and Philip (Betsy) Mayer; and six nieces and | 7 | | nephews; therefore, be it | 8 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | 9 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 10 | | Judith A. "Judy" (Ahlquist) Mayer and extend our sincere | 11 | | condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved | 12 | | her; and be it further | 13 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 14 | | presented to the family of Judy Mayer as an expression of our | 15 | | deepest sympathy. |
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