Full Text of SR0062 102nd General Assembly
SR0062 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 Betty "BJ" Thetford of Metamora, | 4 | | formerly of Washington, who passed away on January 10, 2021; | 5 | | and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, BJ Thetford was born in Louisville, Kentucky to | 7 | | Clarence Harder and Hazel (Bradshaw) Harder on December 27, | 8 | | 1931; she graduated from Woodruff High School in 1949, where | 9 | | she belonged to the choir; she later attended Midstate College | 10 | | to further hone her executive secretarial skills; she married | 11 | | Gentry Cain Thetford in Peoria on March 18, 1951, and he | 12 | | preceded her in death on February 8, 2013; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, BJ Thetford was employed for the majority of her | 14 | | career at Caterpillar; she began in the secretarial pool at | 15 | | Caterpillar and worked in a number of positions; she left | 16 | | Caterpillar only briefly to be reunited with Dr. Asbury, who | 17 | | left as Caterpillar's medical director to become the medical | 18 | | director for Proctor Hospital; she was devoted to her work and | 19 | | enjoyed working for former Director of Public Affairs Byron | 20 | | DeHaan and working with Steve Newhouse on the Caterpillar | 21 | | Annual Report in the 1980s; after over 35 years, she retired | 22 | | from the Personnel department of Caterpillar in 1993; during | 23 | | her career, she belonged to Peoria's chapter of the National |
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| 1 | | Secretaries Association, where she served as a speaker and an | 2 | | officer; she was an outstanding secretary and communicator, | 3 | | and she was fiercely loyal to her superiors as well as her | 4 | | coworkers; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, BJ Thetford was a former member of Sunnyland | 6 | | Christian Church before becoming a member at First Christian | 7 | | Church in Peoria, where she served as a deacon and was a choir | 8 | | member at both; she was a woman of many talents and was a | 9 | | wonderful cook, seamstress, artist, and singer; she was in | 10 | | barbershop quartets with her brother as a young adult; she was | 11 | | a soloist for weddings and funerals; she was the former member | 12 | | of a trio, consisting of Helen Manier, Norma Hoffmire, and | 13 | | herself, from Sunnyland who sang at numerous events for a | 14 | | number of years; she was later a member of the ECCU Keys with | 15 | | her good friend Kay Sharp from Sunnyland, and they performed | 16 | | at various churches and venues over the years while she also | 17 | | served as the MC and comedienne between musical numbers; she | 18 | | became a member of the Snyder Village Gospel Choir after she | 19 | | moved to Snyder Village in 2010; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, BJ Thetford firmly believed her children were her | 21 | | greatest achievement, and she was known for her constant love | 22 | | and support she gave her family; she will be deeply missed; and
| 23 | | WHEREAS, BJ Thetford was preceded in death by her husband; |
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| 1 | | her parents; and her brother, Elroy Harder; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, BJ Thetford is survived by her children, Gale | 3 | | Thetford, Donn Thetford, and Sheri (Robert) Perkins; her | 4 | | grandsons, Nathan (Allison) Tonnies, Stuart Schmadeke (Lauren | 5 | | Howard), Derek (Jessie) Thetford, Taylor Perkins, and Aaron | 6 | | (Elsa) Perkins; her great-grandchildren, Tyler Mollman and | 7 | | Hazel Tonnies; her sister, Caren (Dick) Lobo; her stepmother, | 8 | | Alice Harder Ragan; and her nephew, Michael (Jamie) Harder; | 9 | | 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 | | Betty "BJ" Thetford and extend our sincere condolences to her | 13 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it | 14 | | further
| 15 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 16 | | presented to the family of BJ Thetford as an expression of our | 17 | | deepest sympathy.
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