Full Text of SR0688 101st General Assembly
SR0688 101ST 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 Susan Loving Gravenhorst, who passed away | 4 | | on September 15, 2019; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Susan Gravenhorst was born in Effingham to Harold | 6 | | and Julia (Highsmith) Loving on October 1, 1931; she skipped | 7 | | the third grade and graduated from Effingham High School as | 8 | | class valedictorian at the age of 16; she graduated from | 9 | | Stephens College for Women in Columbia, Missouri in 1950 and | 10 | | received her Bachelor of Arts in English with a credential in | 11 | | secondary school teaching and a minor in speech from the | 12 | | University of Illinois in 1952; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Susan Gravenhorst married Albert D. "Alby" | 14 | | Gravenhorst on Valentine's Day 1953, and they moved around the | 15 | | country, as Albert pursued a career in advertising while Susan | 16 | | taught English, journalism, and speech in junior high and high | 17 | | schools in Atlanta, Des Moines, Birmingham (MI), Cleveland, | 18 | | Dallas, and finally Lake Forest; in the 1960s, she and her | 19 | | husband founded Gravenhorst & Associates, Incorporated in | 20 | | Chicago, where she served as chief financial officer and | 21 | | treasurer for over 35 years; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, While living in Lake Forest, Susan Gravenhorst |
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| 1 | | became involved with many community organizations, including | 2 | | the Cherokee School PTA (President), the Lake Forest PTA | 3 | | (President), the Lake Forest High School Volunteer Board | 4 | | (President), the Lake Forest Symphony Associations' Women's | 5 | | Committee, the Lake Bluff/Lake Forest Committee of the Arden | 6 | | Shore Association, the Lake Forest Hospital Women's Board, PEO | 7 | | KV Chapter (President), Faith Lutheran Church's Mary and Martha | 8 | | Guild (President), and the Friends of Gorton Community Center | 9 | | Board; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Susan Gravenhorst became active in local | 11 | | politics, first serving as the president of the Women's | 12 | | Republican Club of Lake Forest; she served on the Lake Forest | 13 | | Caucus for eight years and as the State Central Republican | 14 | | Committeewoman for the Illinois 10th Congressional District | 15 | | from 1982 to 1998; she was also a member of the Lake County | 16 | | Republican Federation Board of Governors from 1968 to 1984; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, In 1984, Susan Gravenhorst was elected to the | 18 | | University of Illinois Board of Trustees; she was re-elected in | 19 | | 1990 and, after the board shifted from elective to appointive, | 20 | | was appointed to a third term by Governor Jim Edgar in 1996; in | 21 | | 1998, she was elected chairman of the board and, consequently, | 22 | | her signature is on the diplomas of thousands of students who | 23 | | graduated during the 1998 to 2000 timeframe; she chaired most | 24 | | of the committees of the board and was the first woman to chair |
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| 1 | | the committee on athletics; she also served as a board member | 2 | | of the University of Illinois Foundation and its President's | 3 | | Council and the State Universities Civil Service Merit Board; | 4 | | and | 5 | | WHEREAS, In 1999 at its annual convention in Seattle, the | 6 | | Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges | 7 | | honored Susan Gravenhorst with its Distinguished Service Award | 8 | | in Trusteeship for the "best volunteer service to public higher | 9 | | education"; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, In 2002, after retiring from the University of | 11 | | Illinois Board of Trustees, she was elected Lake County | 12 | | Commissioner and served Lake Forest/Lake Bluff for eight years, | 13 | | retiring in 2012 at age 80; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Susan Gravenhorst was a member of the Knollwood | 15 | | Club, the Delta Gamma Sorority, and PEO; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Susan Gravenhorst was preceded in death by her | 17 | | husband, Alby; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Susan Gravenhorst is survived by her son, Hugo | 19 | | (Terese) Gravenhorst; her daughters, Suzanne Gravenhorst and | 20 | | Jane (Lars) Soderberg; and her grandchildren, Abigail (Ian) | 21 | | Strug, Eleanor Gravenhorst, Lars A. Soderberg, Anders |
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| 1 | | Soderberg, and Bradley Soderberg; therefore, be it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 3 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 4 | | Susan Loving Gravenhorst and extend our sincere condolences to | 5 | | her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it | 6 | | further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 8 | | presented to the family of Susan Gravenhorst as an expression | 9 | | of our deepest sympathy.
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