Full Text of SR0018 102nd General Assembly
SR0018 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 Norman "Norm" V. Kelly of Peoria, who | 4 | | passed away on August 4, 2020; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Norm Kelly was born to Orris and Lillian (Ryan) | 6 | | Kelly in Peoria on April 24, 1932; he graduated from Woodruff | 7 | | High School in 1950; he served in the Korean War as a Staff | 8 | | Sergeant in a medical unit; after the war, he attended Bradley | 9 | | University and graduated in 1958; he married Gloria Keith in | 10 | | Peoria on September 23, 1961; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Norm Kelly worked as a private investigator and | 12 | | as a paralegal; he was a well known radio personality who | 13 | | appeared on all of the local talk shows in Peoria as well as | 14 | | several T.V. shows; he was a frequent speaker at service clubs | 15 | | and luncheons; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Norm Kelly was an accomplished writer who had | 17 | | written ten books about the history of Peoria, mostly focusing | 18 | | on the bawdy, seedy, and dangerous elements of Peoria's long | 19 | | history from 1845 through 1950;
he also wrote the book Officer | 20 | | Down, which chronicled the death of officers that had died in | 21 | | the line of duty in Peoria; Genisis: The Park Murders was his | 22 | | penultimate book, which sold out the first two printings; his |
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| 1 | | last book was False Face; he was a member of the prestigious | 2 | | Mystery Writers of America for many years; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Norm Kelly also wrote close to 300 short stories, | 4 | | including mystery, fiction, and adventure pieces; he wrote | 5 | | hundreds of articles about Peoria and wrote for NEWS and VIEWS | 6 | | and stories for The Times Observer, Arts and Society, Journal | 7 | | Star, and Downstate Story; he had stories printed in multiple | 8 | | newspapers, America's Most Wanted, dozens of newsletters, and | 9 | | Central Illinois Business Publishers; he wrote the play The | 10 | | Case of the Missing Manuscript for the Peoria Library; this | 11 | | play was shown on local TV and starred local celebrities; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Norm Kelly discovered that PFC Zimmerman, the | 13 | | first soldier with ties to Peoria to die in the Korean War, was | 14 | | not on the Korean Monument in Peoria; PFC Zimmerman was added | 15 | | to the monument after this discovery; he wrote stories of five | 16 | | officers that had died in the line of duty but were never | 17 | | honored, and their names are now on all three police memorials | 18 | | in Illinois and in Washington, D.C.; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Norm Kelly was selected as a Distinguished Alumni | 20 | | of Woodruff High School in 2006; he was awarded the Landin | 21 | | Award from the Peoria Park District and two distinguished | 22 | | service awards from the Peoria and State Police Departments; | 23 | | he represented the United States as the U.S. Clue Champion in |
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| 1 | | 1986 in New York City; he gave $12,000 to local non-profit | 2 | | organizations in Peoria over the years; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Norm Kelly was preceded in death by his parents | 4 | | and his eight siblings; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Norm Kelly is survived by his wife; his daughter, | 6 | | Lynne Renee (Paul) Schelly; his son, Keith (Angie) Kelly; his | 7 | | grandchildren, Brooke (Chris) Galvan and Sam Schelly; his | 8 | | sister, Sara Shatto; his brother, David (Debbie) Kelly; and | 9 | | his several nieces and nephews; therefore, be it
| 10 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 11 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 12 | | Norman "Norm" V. Kelly 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 Norm Kelly as an expression of our | 17 | | deepest sympathy.
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