Full Text of SR2265 99th General Assembly
SR2265 99TH 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 William Patrick "Bill" Myers of | 4 | | Champaign, who passed away on September 30, 2016; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, William Myers was born on July 27, 1930 in Omaha, | 6 | | Nebraska; his parents were Arthur and Esther Myers; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, William Myers and his family moved to Chicago in | 8 | | the mid-1930s and he helped support his family by shining | 9 | | shoes, selling newspapers, and pedaling a bicycle ice cream | 10 | | cart; during his free time, he enjoyed swimming and playing | 11 | | baseball and "street football"; after his mother died in 1942, | 12 | | he and his siblings went to live in Angel Guardian Orphanage, | 13 | | where he attended school until 1946; he then lived with his | 14 | | aunt and uncle, Ruth and Fred Rueckhardt, while attending | 15 | | Nicholas Senn High School in Chicago and Iowa State Teacher's | 16 | | College (now Northern Iowa University); and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, In 1952, William Myers enlisted in the United | 18 | | States Army, where he served as a mess sergeant and grill cook | 19 | | at the Officer's Club at Fort Leonard Wood; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, From 1954 to 1956, William Myers attended the | 21 | | University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, where he earned a |
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| 1 | | bachelor's degree in restaurant management; he later worked in | 2 | | management positions with the Stouffer's Restaurant | 3 | | Corporation in Chicago and New York from 1956 to 1959; he also | 4 | | served as the associate director of housing at the University | 5 | | of Illinois from 1959 to 1966 and as the food service manager | 6 | | of residence halls at Stanford University from 1966 to 1972; | 7 | | and | 8 | | WHEREAS, In 1966, prior to accepting the job at Stanford | 9 | | University, William Myers and two other men formed Franchise | 10 | | Management Systems, an Arby's Restaurant franchise, in | 11 | | Champaign; as founder, owner, and president of FMS, he was one | 12 | | of the original Arby's franchisees; over the years, the | 13 | | business expanded to include two Champaign-area restaurants, | 14 | | Abigail's and Country Inn, as well as 16 Arby's, three G.D. | 15 | | Ritzy's, and three Daddy-O's Restaurants in Champaign-Urbana, | 16 | | Danville, Bradley, Bourbonnais, Peoria, and Moline, as well as | 17 | | Davenport, Bettendorf, and Muscatine, Iowa; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, William Myers was well known as a businessman, | 19 | | mentor, and philanthropist until his semi-retirement in 2011, | 20 | | when he became chairman of the board at FMS; after his full | 21 | | retirement in 2015, he continued his philanthropic activities | 22 | | through the William P. Myers Foundation; in 1981, he | 23 | | established the William P. Myers Education Fund to assist | 24 | | Cunningham Children's Home youths with education and job |
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| 1 | | training beyond the high school level; he supported other | 2 | | Cunningham projects, such as participating in the annual | 3 | | Kendall Gill Golf Outing, volunteering for and attending | 4 | | Christmas and Thanksgiving celebrations, supporting music and | 5 | | recreational programs, and making a major gift commitment to | 6 | | their $15 million Lighting the Way Capital Campaign; he | 7 | | provided food, funding, and equipment for the Special Olympics; | 8 | | he served as a mentor, counselor, and adviser at L.W.'s Place, | 9 | | a drug and alcohol treatment center in Champaign; he donated | 10 | | his time as a counselor and community advocate for Family Life | 11 | | Skills Learning Center, a faith-based agency that teaches | 12 | | individuals how to stop the cycle of abuse and build a healthy | 13 | | home; he provided food, money, and monthly volunteer staffing | 14 | | for the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen in Champaign; he provided | 15 | | educational and job training programs at FMS, which hired | 16 | | individuals with developmental disabilities and worked | 17 | | directly with high school students in School-to-Work programs; | 18 | | he also granted food service scholarships at the University of | 19 | | Illinois, Northern Iowa University, Parkland Community | 20 | | College, and Danville Area Community College; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, William Myers is survived by his wife, Adele; his | 22 | | children, Nathalie Pearson and Mark (Renee) Myers; his | 23 | | stepchildren, Elizabeth (Andy) Varner, Jane (Trent) England, | 24 | | Mike (Kari) Pankey, and Tim Pankey; and his grandchildren, | 25 | | Jessica Pearson, Kathleen Varner, Michael Varner, Grace |
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| 1 | | Pankey, Kate Pankey, and Joe Pankey; therefore, be it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | 3 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with his | 4 | | family and friends, mourn the passing of William Patrick "Bill" | 5 | | Myers; and be it further
| 6 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 7 | | presented to the family of William Myers as an expression of | 8 | | our sympathy.
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