Full Text of SR0443 94th General Assembly
SR0443 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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SR0443 |
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LRB094 14243 HSS 49156 r |
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois | 3 |
| learned with regret of the death of Dr. Rollin George Taecker, | 4 |
| Ph.D., of Naperville, on Friday, August 19, 2005; and
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| WHEREAS, Born in Watertown, South Dakota, Dr. Taecker was | 6 |
| the youngest of five children raised by a father who was among | 7 |
| the pioneers first settling that part of the country and a | 8 |
| mother whose grandfather had helped to found Naperville; he was | 9 |
| high school valedictorian and later received a bachelor's | 10 |
| degree from the South Dakota School of Mines; he received a | 11 |
| doctorate degree in chemical engineering from the University of | 12 |
| Wisconsin in Madison, where he gravitated toward nuclear | 13 |
| science; his early research there helped identify processes for | 14 |
| nuclear separation and oil refinement; and
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| WHEREAS, Dr. Taecker later became a chemical engineering | 16 |
| professor at Kansas State University, and in 1953, he helped | 17 |
| initiate President Dwight Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace program | 18 |
| at Argonne, near Lemont, an effort to promote international | 19 |
| scientific cooperation by offering other nations assistance in | 20 |
| harnessing the power of nuclear energy for peaceful uses; and
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| WHEREAS, An expert in his field, Dr. Taecker's career took | 22 |
| him throughout the world as he assisted efforts for the | 23 |
| peaceful use of atomic energy; in France, he was a Fellow at | 24 |
| the Saclay Nuclear Institute from 1962 to 1963; in Vienna, | 25 |
| Austria, he served the United Nations' International Atomic | 26 |
| Energy Agency as its chief of fellowships and training from | 27 |
| 1969 to 1971; major assignments also took him to the | 28 |
| Philippines, Brazil, South Korea, and Japan; his intellect, | 29 |
| professionalism, and his warm and earnest style made a positive | 30 |
| and lasting contribution to friendly relations between the | 31 |
| United States and other nations; and
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| WHEREAS, Dr. Taecker also devoted time to community | 2 |
| service; his wife, Patricia Precourt Taecker, assisted him as | 3 |
| an ambassador of American friendship and leader in the | 4 |
| community; together, they helped initiate programs for the | 5 |
| support of the mentally ill in DuPage County; he also served on | 6 |
| the College of DuPage's board of trustees and was elected to | 7 |
| Naperville's City Council in 1958, where he served as | 8 |
| commissioner of public works and helped devise the city's first | 9 |
| long-range comprehensive development plan for growth and | 10 |
| helped bring sewage treatment facilities into Naperville; and
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| WHEREAS, He is remembered as a true gentleman and for his | 12 |
| calm demeanor; he enjoyed tinkering in his garage and working | 13 |
| on his own inventions; he had been a member of Grace United | 14 |
| Methodist Church since 1955; and
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| WHEREAS, The passing of Dr. Taecker has been deeply felt by | 16 |
| many, especially his wife of 58 years, Patricia; his sons, | 17 |
| Kevin, Kurt, and Matt; his five grandchildren; and his | 18 |
| sister-in-law, Nel Taecker; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL | 20 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 21 |
| Dr. Rollin George Taecker, Ph.D., and we extend our sincere | 22 |
| condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved | 23 |
| him; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 25 |
| presented to his family as an expression of our deepest | 26 |
| sympathy.
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