Full Text of SR0243 102nd General Assembly
SR0243 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 Benjamin J. "Ben" Cheek of Rantoul, | 4 | | who passed away on March 9, 2021; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek was born to Bertha (Hunter) and | 6 | | Benjamin Cheek in Warrenton, North Carolina on May 8, 1936; he | 7 | | joined the U.S. Air Force and served as a fire protection | 8 | | specialist and with a helicopter rescue group; he served | 9 | | overseas in England and Africa and was stationed at a variety | 10 | | of locations throughout the U.S.; he married Emily Harris in | 11 | | Washington, D.C. on June 6, 1959 and completed his 20-year Air | 12 | | Force career at Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek often held a second job in addition to | 14 | | his full-time military service; he was a bouncer at the base | 15 | | NCO Club, bagged groceries at the commissary, and worked at | 16 | | Eisner's grocery store in Rantoul, serving first in the meat | 17 | | department and then the produce department; he became the | 18 | | grocery manager and finally the manager of the entire store; | 19 | | and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek retired from the Air Force and worked | 21 | | as a civil servant, where he was in charge of coordinating many | 22 | | training manuals for all of the Armed Forces; he also worked |
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| 1 | | one more part-time stint as a bus driver, this time for Rantoul | 2 | | Township High School; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek spent time as a firefighter; during | 4 | | Fire Prevention Week, he would visit his children's schools | 5 | | and give them and their classmates rides on his fire truck; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek served on the Rantoul City Schools | 7 | | Board of Education for 17 years; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek was not political, but in 1968, when | 9 | | Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, the local | 10 | | television station in Minot announced it would not carry his | 11 | | funeral; he and his wife helped organize a protest and letter | 12 | | writing campaign that led the station to reverse that decision | 13 | | and honor Dr. King with live coverage of his services; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek and his wife volunteered as chaperones | 15 | | at school dances, and he attended as many of his | 16 | | grandchildren's events and activities as possible; he loved | 17 | | giving them creative pet names; he was a devoted and | 18 | | protective father and grandfather; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek was an active member of Rantoul First | 20 | | United Methodist Church for 47 years, where he served in many | 21 | | ways; he was on the Board of Trustees, a member of the finance |
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| 1 | | committee, an usher, and the elevator operator; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek was an avid sports fan; he and his wife | 3 | | were season ticket holders for the University of Illinois | 4 | | basketball team; his favorite baseball team was the New York | 5 | | Mets, although he also rooted for the Cubs; he was a devoted | 6 | | fan of the Green Bay Packers, but he would support the Chicago | 7 | | Bears; his barbecue grilling skills were legendary; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek was affectionate and often showed his | 9 | | love in simple ways like preparing Emily's special coffee or | 10 | | the special drink they shared, scraping the car windows for | 11 | | his daughters after a snowfall, and treating Emily and, years | 12 | | after she passed, Harriette Dottery, as the treasures he knew | 13 | | they were; he spent the last years of his life doing the things | 14 | | he loved with Harriette, enjoying being with family, meeting | 15 | | new people, and traveling; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek was preceded in death by his wife, | 17 | | Emily; his parents; and all seven of his siblings; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek is survived by his companion, | 19 | | Harriette; his children, Ramona, Keith (Amy), Sharon (Shonda | 20 | | Russell), Monica (Sam) Hall, and Niki (Asa) Pettit; and his | 21 | | grandchildren, Quintin, Eric, and Emily Cheek, Jordan and | 22 | | Nathan Russell, Samuel IV, Anisa, and Elijah Hall, and Ameea |
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| 1 | | and Kalel Pettit; therefore, be it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 3 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 4 | | Benjamin J. "Ben" Cheek and extend our sincere condolences to | 5 | | his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 6 | | further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 8 | | presented to the family of Ben Cheek as an expression of our | 9 | | deepest sympathy.
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