Full Text of HR0958 101st General Assembly
HR0958 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Richard | 4 | | E. "Rich" Herrin, who passed away on December 25, 2020; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Rich Herrin attended several grade schools and | 6 | | graduated from Bridgeport High School in 1951; he graduated | 7 | | from McKendree University in Lebanon in 1956, where he earned | 8 | | 11 varsity letters in basketball, track, golf, and baseball; he | 9 | | received his master's degree from Southern Illinois University | 10 | | Carbondale (SIU) in the summer of 1962; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Rich Herrin married Martha Sue Cooksey on December | 12 | | 21, 1957, whom he met accidentally at a SIU football game in | 13 | | the fall of 1956; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Rich Herrin's career began in the small community | 15 | | of Okawville in the fall of 1956; he taught and coached the | 16 | | Rockets for four years, where he had great success with a team | 17 | | of talented and dedicated young men; he and his family moved to | 18 | | Benton in the summer of 1960, where he began a 25-year span of | 19 | | exciting and successful teaching and coaching the Rangers, | 20 | | compiling an astonishing record number of wins that led to 21 | 21 | | regional tournament wins and five trips to the state | 22 | | tournament; in 1982, the Benton High School gymnasium was named |
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| 1 | | in his honor; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Rich Herrin began his college coaching career at | 3 | | SIU in 1985, leading the Salukis for 13 years; he was named the | 4 | | Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Coach of the Year in 1990 and | 5 | | led the Salukis to their first and only three-peat by winning | 6 | | the MVC Tournament three times in a row, which allowed the | 7 | | Salukis to play in the NCAA tournament three times, in 1993, | 8 | | 1994, and 1995; in 2002, he began coaching for the Marion | 9 | | Wildcats for five years; he finalized his 52-year coaching | 10 | | career at Morthland College in West Frankfort, coaching five | 11 | | more years, where he won the Christian College National | 12 | | Invitational Tournament Championship in 2016; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, By the end of his career, Rich Herrin had amassed | 14 | | an amazing total of 981 victories; many of his players earned | 15 | | college scholarships; a large number of his players became | 16 | | basketball coaches, and several played in the NBA; besides his | 17 | | loving family, the impact he had on so many young lives is one | 18 | | of his greatest legacies; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Rich Herrin received many honors during his | 20 | | illustrious career; in addition to the St. Louis Sports Hall of | 21 | | Fame and the Southern Illinois Coaches Hall of Fame, he was | 22 | | inducted into several other halls of fame, including those of | 23 | | McKendree University, SIU, the Illinois Basketball Coaches |
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| 1 | | Association, and the Missouri Valley Conference; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Rich Herrin was known throughout most of his life | 3 | | as "Coach Herrin" and taught his players many skills, both on | 4 | | and off the basketball court; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Rich Herrin dedicated decades of his life in | 6 | | service to the youth of Southern Illinois and had a lasting | 7 | | impact on the lives of his players, students, family, and | 8 | | friends; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Rich Herrin was a treasured husband, father, | 10 | | grandfather, coach, and friend; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Rich Herrin was preceded in death by his parents; | 12 | | his brother, Ron; his mother-in-law and father-in-law, | 13 | | Elizabeth and Ben Cooksey; his brothers-in-law, Glen Zilmer and | 14 | | Jack Richey; his niece, Tara (Zilmer) Kaiser; and his | 15 | | great-nephew,
Cameron Herrin Vennard; therefore, be it
| 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 17 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 18 | | we mourn the passing of Coach Richard E. "Rich" Herrin and | 19 | | extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all | 20 | | who knew and loved him; and be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 | | presented to the family of Rich Herrin as an expression of our | 3 | | deepest sympathy.
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