Full Text of SR0206 100th General Assembly
SR0206 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of Melvin Ernest Kamholz of Crystal Lake, | 4 | | who passed away on January 23, 2017 at the age of 96; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Melvin Kamholz was born in Rockford and raised in | 6 | | Marengo; he attended Marengo High School and excelled at track | 7 | | and basketball; not long after graduating in 1938, he was | 8 | | drafted into the United States Army and served four years in | 9 | | the Pacific theater, becoming proficient with the Browning | 10 | | Automatic Rifle and advancing to the rank of Sergeant; slated | 11 | | to be part of the first wave of the invasion of Japan at the end | 12 | | of the war, he and thousands of his fellow soldiers were spared | 13 | | almost certain death by the dropping of the atomic bombs and | 14 | | surrender of Japan in 1945; he met his wife, Mildred Fiepke, | 15 | | when he first spotted her singing in the church choir and then | 16 | | started buying his cigarettes from the grocery store where she | 17 | | worked as a checker; they were married at Zion Lutheran Church | 18 | | in Marengo in 1950; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Melvin Kamholz returned to Marengo after the war | 20 | | and began working as a meter reader at Northern Illinois Gas | 21 | | Company in Crystal Lake; he and his wife started their family | 22 | | soon after and in 1955, moved to their newly-purchased home in | 23 | | Crystal Lake to be closer to his job; he continued at the gas |
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| 1 | | company until he retired at the age of 62, having worked his | 2 | | way up from meter reader to service representative; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Melvin Kamholz was always competitive; he | 4 | | excelled at basketball as a young man, and his skills on the | 5 | | court saved him from more than one battle in the Philippines as | 6 | | his commanding officers recruited him to play in tournaments | 7 | | against Navy and Air Force teams; after the war, his skill at | 8 | | softball led him to be a popular player; his greatest claim to | 9 | | fame was hitting a home run off the nationally famous, "King", | 10 | | who pitched for the semi-professional King and his Court; his | 11 | | love and knowledge of baseball led to years of coaching Little | 12 | | League in Crystal Lake; in his later years, he was an avid | 13 | | fisherman, golfer, and bowler; he remained actively pursuing | 14 | | these passions late into life; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Melvin Kamholz volunteered at the Crystal Lake | 16 | | Food Pantry and helped with PADS and other church-related | 17 | | charity work after his retirement; he kept himself busy working | 18 | | part-time at Bethesda Thrift Shop, and was an invaluable driver | 19 | | and delivery man for many years at his daughter-in-law's coffee | 20 | | shop, Two-a-T; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Melvin Kamholz enjoyed Westerns, reading, playing | 22 | | cards, and he loved watching the Cubs and college basketball; | 23 | | he was an unrepentant jokester and loved embarrassing his |
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| 1 | | family at restaurants every chance he could; when he was not | 2 | | enjoying a beer, he enjoyed the occasional Brandy Old Fashioned | 3 | | Sweet; his massive collection of beer cans and bottles covered | 4 | | two walls of his basement man-cave; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Melvin Kamholz was preceded in death by his | 6 | | parents, Ernest and Ida (Albrecht) Kamholz; and his siblings, | 7 | | Howard Kamholz and Phyllis (Kamholz) Kunde; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Melvin Kamholz is survived by his wife of 66 | 9 | | years, Mildred (Fiepke) Kamholz; his eldest daughter, Karen | 10 | | Kamholz; his son, Kurt (Debra) Kamholz; his youngest daughter, | 11 | | Kim (Christopher) Archie; four grandchildren, Josh (Carly) | 12 | | Kamholz, Jenna (Wesley) Janson, Jack Archie, and Kathryn | 13 | | Dziewior; four great-grandchildren, Everett Kamholz, Brittany | 14 | | Fatzinger, and James and Jonathan Janson; one | 15 | | great-great-grandson, Mason Fatzinger; and many close friends; | 16 | | therefore, be it
| 17 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | 18 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 19 | | Melvin Ernest Kamholz, and extend our sincere condolences to | 20 | | his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 21 | | further
| 22 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
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| 1 | | presented to the family of Melvin Kamholz as an expression of | 2 | | our deepest sympathy.
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