Full Text of SR0754 95th General Assembly
SR0754 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 |
| learn of the death of
William Thomas Eichenauer of Decatur, who | 4 |
| passed away on June 1, 2008; and
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| WHEREAS, William Eichenauer was born on August 6, 1929 in | 6 |
| Decatur; he was the son of Harold Lyn and Marianna (Rucker) | 7 |
| Eichenauer; he married Nancy Lee Fisher on August 8, 1953 in | 8 |
| Port Washington, New York; and
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| WHEREAS, William Eichenauer was a life-long resident of | 10 |
| Decatur; he graduated with the Class of 1947 at Decatur High | 11 |
| School and received his bachelor's degree in Engineering | 12 |
| Administration from Millikin University in 1951; and
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| WHEREAS, William Eichenauer served in the United States | 14 |
| Army from 1951 until 1953, performing tests and experimental | 15 |
| work on radar in conjunction with Army Field Forces Board IV | 16 |
| Sperry Gyroscope Company and Raytheon Corporation field | 17 |
| engineers at Ft. Bliss, Texas and White Sands, New Mexico; and | 18 |
| WHEREAS, William Eichenauer and his father, Harold, | 19 |
| established Eichenauer Services, Inc. (ESI), an electrical | 20 |
| contracting and commercial food equipment service company, in | 21 |
| 1955; after purchasing his father's share of the business in |
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| 1972, he served as chairman of the board until 2004, when the | 2 |
| company was purchased by his sons; and
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| WHEREAS, William Eichenauer's leadership in the commercial | 4 |
| food equipment service industry helped establish the | 5 |
| Commercial Food Equipment Service Association (CFESA) in 1963, | 6 |
| where he served as president from 1969-1971 and 1983-1985; he | 7 |
| was instrumental in developing Tech Trac 80, a national | 8 |
| technical training program at the Northwood Institute, and | 9 |
| garnered national recognition with the Presidential | 10 |
| Distinguished Service Award from (CFESA) in 1977 and the | 11 |
| Outstanding Top Service Company in the nation by Vulcan Hart | 12 |
| Corporation in Louisville, Kentucky in 1988; ESI was also | 13 |
| recognized as the Decatur Chamber of Commerce Small Business of | 14 |
| the Year in 1981 and was named the Illinois Small Business of | 15 |
| the Year by Loyola University in 2002; and
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| WHEREAS, William Eichenauer was a tireless supporter of | 17 |
| Millikin University for fifty-seven years; he served as | 18 |
| president of the local fraternal chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon | 19 |
| and the Millikin Quarterback Club and served as chairman for | 20 |
| the Millikin Annual Fund Drive, Capital Fund Drive, and | 21 |
| Centennial Committee; he was elected to the Millikin Board of | 22 |
| Trustees in 1993 and continued to serve as an Emeritus trustee | 23 |
| afterwards; his favorite activity was running the scoreboard | 24 |
| for Millikin's football and basketball games; in honor of his |
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| service to the university, he received the Alumni Loyalty Award | 2 |
| in 1966 and the Alumnus of the Year in 1996; and | 3 |
| WHEREAS, William Eichenauer's commitment to education | 4 |
| extended throughout his community; he served on the Advisory | 5 |
| Council for establishment of the Community College of Decatur | 6 |
| (Richland), the Vocational Education Task Force for the State | 7 |
| of Illinois Department of Education, and the Advisory Council | 8 |
| to the District 61 Area Vocational Center; he recently worked | 9 |
| to establish the Center for Creative Learning and the Culinary | 10 |
| Institute at Richland Community College, which will offer | 11 |
| classes in the fall of 2008; and
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| WHEREAS, William Eichenauer's dedication to revitalizing | 13 |
| the historic areas of Decatur led to the establishment of the | 14 |
| Oakwood Business Association, where he served as chairman, and | 15 |
| the Olde Towne Redevelopment Corporation for the City of | 16 |
| Decatur, which offers funding to homeowners for property | 17 |
| improvements in Decatur's West End; his efforts to influence | 18 |
| the creation of the West Main Corridor resulted in the | 19 |
| completion of its first phase in 2007; he continued to serve on | 20 |
| the Lincoln Square Theatre board as past chairman to support | 21 |
| ongoing efforts to renovate the historic theatre; and
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| WHEREAS, William Eichenauer's concern for the plight of | 23 |
| America's wolf population led to his involvement in |
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| establishing the wolf exhibit at Scovill Zoo; and | 2 |
| WHEREAS, William Eichenauer was a past chairman of the | 3 |
| Community Investment Corporation of Decatur, and was elected to | 4 |
| the board of trustees for First National Bank, First Decatur | 5 |
| Bancshares (now Busey Bank) in 1992; he was a member of the | 6 |
| Westminster Presbyterian Church, where he served as Deacon, | 7 |
| Elder, and president of the Board of Trustees; in honor of his | 8 |
| dedication to the Decatur community, he was named the Citizen | 9 |
| of the Year by the City of Decatur in 2007; and
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| WHEREAS, William Eichenauer took pleasure from woodworking | 11 |
| and gardening and was an avid rock hound; he thoroughly enjoyed | 12 |
| hunting for gems in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina | 13 |
| during family vacations and was grateful for his role as "Head | 14 |
| Guru" on camping trips across the country with the nine "Guru" | 15 |
| families; and
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| WHEREAS, William Eichenauer is survived by his loving wife, | 17 |
| Nancy; his sisters, Betty Peters (Roy) and Mary Jane Babb | 18 |
| (Rob); his sons, Tom (Gloria) and Lee (Toni); his daughters, | 19 |
| Beth Stringer, Patty Jones, and Sue Allen (John); and his 17 | 20 |
| grandchildren; and | 21 |
| WHEREAS, William Eichenauer took great pride in his family | 22 |
| and worked to instill a strong sense of self; he lived by four |
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| basic tenets, which consisted of worshipping God, working hard, | 2 |
| cherishing his family, and giving back to his community; his | 3 |
| selfless passion for living, voracious desire to keep learning, | 4 |
| and the deep love he held for his family and the city he called | 5 |
| home will be greatly missed by his loved ones and his many | 6 |
| friends; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | 8 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 9 |
| his family and friends, the passing of William Eichenauer; and | 10 |
| be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 12 |
| presented to the family of William Eichenauer as an expression | 13 |
| of our sympathy.
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