Full Text of SR0556 102nd General Assembly
SR0556 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 Elizabeth Ann Weidner of Dieterich, | 4 | | who passed away on September 29, 2021; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner was born to Matthew and | 6 | | Jennifer (McCabe) Weidner in Effingham on January 2, 2004; she | 7 | | was named First Baby of the Year at St. Anthony's Memorial | 8 | | Hospital; she was given the title of "Queen Elizabeth" by her | 9 | | great-grandfather, Albert, who affectionately called her | 10 | | "Queenie" growing up; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner was diagnosed with Stage 4 High | 12 | | Risk Neuroblastoma in January 2016; she underwent numerous | 13 | | surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, bone marrow transplant, | 14 | | immunotherapy, clinical trials, and much more; she battled the | 15 | | disease with grace, determination, and strength for nearly 6 | 16 | | years; in the process, she inspired and impacted many; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner was crowned Junior Miss | 18 | | Effingham County Fair in 2017, and she wore the crown and | 19 | | represented Effingham County with pride, attending many | 20 | | pageants, events, parades, and festivals across the State; | 21 | | after winning, she created Crowns Fight Cancer to raise money | 22 | | and awareness in the fight against childhood cancer with the |
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| 1 | | motto "Just a Girl Changing the World One Rhinestone at a | 2 | | Time"; along with the help of several clubs, schools, | 3 | | communities, and businesses, she started an amenity drive, | 4 | | which has collected over 80,000 items to date; she donated | 5 | | these items to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and Ronald | 6 | | McDonald Houses in multiple states, helping families like hers | 7 | | by providing items they may be lacking during hospital stays, | 8 | | allowing families to focus on their children; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner was involved in numerous | 10 | | activities, organizations, and clubs; she participated in | 11 | | modified pedal tractor pulls from a young age and competed in | 12 | | numerous competitions; she was the state champion in both | 13 | | Illinois and Indiana one year; she competed at nationals in | 14 | | Mitchell, South Dakota for many years, pulling at times in | 15 | | excess of 900 pounds; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner was passionate about dancing | 17 | | and started taking lessons at Jansen's when she was 3 years | 18 | | old; she was a cheerleader for the Teutopolis Junior High | 19 | | School for 2 years; she became a Teutopolis High School | 20 | | Pomerette, fulfilling a childhood dream; she was named the | 21 | | Illinois High School Association Spirit of Sport winner in | 22 | | 2021; and
| 23 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner was also passionate about |
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| 1 | | theater and drama; she performed in numerous plays at the | 2 | | Effingham Performance Center, Teutopolis Junior High School, | 3 | | and Teutopolis High School; she performed in a lead role at the | 4 | | Teutopolis Terquasquicentennial Celebration in 2014; she | 5 | | placed Runner-Up in the Poetry Out Loud competition in | 6 | | Springfield in 2020, where she performed Invictus, Triumph | 7 | | Like a Girl, and Siblings; she was preparing for the fall's | 8 | | theater production at the time of her death; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner was a member of the Country | 10 | | Cousins 4-H Club and other spin clubs; she was involved in | 11 | | public speaking through 4-H and won at the state level for many | 12 | | years; she also exhibited several general projects, which she | 13 | | won as well; she showed many different animals, including | 14 | | rabbits, chickens, dogs, cats, and pigs; she also competed in | 15 | | Master Showmanship; she enjoyed camping at the Effingham | 16 | | County Fair every year; she was named the 2021 National 4-H | 17 | | Youth in Action Pillar winner for civic engagement in 2020, | 18 | | and her work took the notice of fellow 4-H alum and | 19 | | humanitarian Dolly Parton; most recently, she showed pigs at | 20 | | the Duquoin State Fair and had the Reserve Grand Champion | 21 | | Duroc Gilt; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner served as a chapter officer for | 23 | | the Teutopolis FFA chapter, where her roles included reporter | 24 | | and secretary; she volunteered at the Piglets on Parade |
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| 1 | | exhibit during the Illinois State Fair, educating the public | 2 | | about the swine industry; she was also an officer for Section | 3 | | 20 for 2 years, where she served as sentinel and secretary; she | 4 | | won the Section 20 Creed Speak Contest; she was the state | 5 | | winner for her Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) in | 6 | | Service Learning in 2020; she received her State FFA Degree in | 7 | | 2021, a distinction that only the top 3% of Illinois FFA | 8 | | members receive; she was working towards her American Degree, | 9 | | a distinction that only the top 1% of American FFA members | 10 | | receive; she wrote many grants to initiate the hydroponic | 11 | | program at Teutopolis High School (THS) and worked to secure | 12 | | funding for revamping the courtyards at THS; she was also | 13 | | working towards securing funding to build a greenhouse; her | 14 | | efforts elevated the FFA program for students and the | 15 | | community; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner began advocating for those | 17 | | battling childhood cancer in 2017; she was a national | 18 | | spokesperson at several American Cancer Society (ACS) events | 19 | | and was responsible for bringing the ACS's Gold Together | 20 | | initiative to Illinois; she spoke, danced, and hosted at | 21 | | Curefest in Washington, D.C. many times and pleaded with | 22 | | Congressional leaders to increase funding for childhood cancer | 23 | | research and ultimately better treatments; she participated in | 24 | | several childhood cancer caucuses and Climb the Hill events on | 25 | | Capitol Hill; she was part of a groundbreaking meeting at the |
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| 1 | | University of Maryland, where the FDA, medical professionals, | 2 | | parents, and children met to discuss chemotherapy induced | 3 | | hearing loss; she worked on numerous projects with Kids v. | 4 | | Cancer and the American Childhood Cancer Organization; in the | 5 | | last few years, she filmed the award-winning The Promise: A | 6 | | Docuseries on Childhood Cancer and the mini-documentary | 7 | | Switching the Summit, and she had started working on a third | 8 | | film project in August; as an individual, she raised nearly | 9 | | $70,000 for various cancer organizations; through various | 10 | | groups, she raised millions for research and family support | 11 | | programs; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Despite her hardships, Elizabeth Weidner embodied | 13 | | what it meant to lead with a servant's heart; she earned the | 14 | | distinction of the Governor's Volunteer Service Award and the | 15 | | national Prudential Community Spirit Award in 2019; she also | 16 | | highly encouraged organ and blood product donation and never | 17 | | shied away from giving food to the homeless; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner was a kind, caring, loving, | 19 | | passionate, and graceful young woman who inspired many all | 20 | | over the world; she loved spending time with her brothers; she | 21 | | redefined what it meant to live with cancer and leaves behind a | 22 | | legacy that will live forever; and
| 23 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner was preceded in death by a |
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| 1 | | sibling angel; her aunt, Kimberly L. McCabe; her cousins, | 2 | | Derek and Nathan Weidner; and her great-grandparents, Albert | 3 | | and Arvella (Alexander) McCabe, Marion and Sophia (Schwab) | 4 | | Gasparovich, Raymond and Bernadine (Ochs) Kuenstler, and Royal | 5 | | and Emma (Buerster) Weidner; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner is survived by her parents; her | 7 | | brothers, Ethan (Madilyn Brummer), Eric, and Evan; her | 8 | | grandparents, Richard and Margaret (Kuenstler) Weidner; her | 9 | | many, many animals; and her many aunts, uncles, cousins, | 10 | | friends, pageant sisters, and supporters from afar; therefore, | 11 | | be it
| 12 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 13 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 14 | | Elizabeth Ann Weidner and extend our sincere condolences to | 15 | | her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it | 16 | | further
| 17 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 18 | | presented to the family of Elizabeth Weidner as an expression | 19 | | of our deepest sympathy.
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