Full Text of SR1675 98th General Assembly
SR1675 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | SR1675 | | LRB098 23364 MST 62488 r |
|
| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of Merritt William Sprague of Hull, who | 4 | | passed away on October 4, 2014; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Merritt Sprague was born in Quincy on December 20, | 6 | | 1933 to John W. and Ella L. (nee Long) Sprague; he graduated | 7 | | from Hannibal High School in Hannibal, Missouri, and he earned | 8 | | a degree in agriculture science from the University of | 9 | | Illinois, where he was a member of the FarmHouse International | 10 | | Fraternity; after college, he served in the United States Army, | 11 | | achieving the rank of captain; he married Patricia Ann Paxton | 12 | | on July 3, 1955 in Pittsfield; upon his return to the family | 13 | | farm in 1956, he served as company commander of the Quincy Army | 14 | | Reserve Unit; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Merritt Sprague had a passion for promoting | 16 | | agriculture within his community; he served as a 4-H leader for | 17 | | many years and served as a member of the Pike County Farm | 18 | | Service Board; he was Vice-Chairman of the Illinois Farm Bureau | 19 | | Young Farmers Committee and was also Vice-Chairman of the | 20 | | American Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee; in | 21 | | 1969, he was appointed to the chairmanship of the Illinois | 22 | | State Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service | 23 | | Committee; and
|
| | | SR1675 | - 2 - | LRB098 23364 MST 62488 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, After 25 years of active farming, Merritt Sprague | 2 | | was called upon to serve as Deputy Administrator for Commodity | 3 | | Operations in the Reagan Administration; he was then called | 4 | | upon to become the manager of the Federal Crop Insurance | 5 | | Corporation; he testified in front of the United States | 6 | | Congress routinely during his tenure in Washington, where he | 7 | | was an advocate for American agriculture; during President | 8 | | George H. W. Bush's administration, he served as the Deputy | 9 | | Director of the Office of Program Analysis for the U.S. | 10 | | Department of the Interior; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Merritt Sprague returned home to resume | 12 | | management of the family farm; during this time, he served as | 13 | | chairman of the Mid-America Intermodal Authority Port, where he | 14 | | worked tirelessly to promote the development of an intermodal | 15 | | port terminal in the Quincy area, which is ongoing today; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Merritt Sprague served on the Pike County Mental | 17 | | Health Board; he was an active member of the Hull Lions Club | 18 | | and was a lifelong member of the United Baptist Church of Hull | 19 | | and Kinderhook, where he not only taught many Sunday school | 20 | | classes but also served as deacon; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Merritt Sprague was preceded in death by his | 22 | | parents and his son, Philip Randall "Randy" Sprague; and
|
| | | SR1675 | - 3 - | LRB098 23364 MST 62488 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, Merritt Sprague is survived by his wife, Patricia; | 2 | | his 2 sons, Marvin Kent "Mark" (Lisa) Sprague and Merritt | 3 | | Andrew Sprague; his 2 granddaughters, AnnaMarie (Jason) Hanes | 4 | | and Dr. Mallory (Adam) Perrine; his grandson, Marine Lt. | 5 | | Jeffrey (Kelsi) Neese; his great-grandson, Paxton Kent Hanes; | 6 | | his brother, John Kent (Margaret) Sprague; his 2 nephews, James | 7 | | and Paul Sprague; and his niece, Cynthia Dreier; therefore, be | 8 | | it
| 9 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | 10 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 11 | | Merritt William Sprague, and extend our sincere condolences to | 12 | | his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 13 | | further
| 14 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 15 | | presented to the family of Merritt Sprague as an expression of | 16 | | our deepest sympathy.
|
|