Full Text of HR0781 95th General Assembly
HR0781 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of
Howard E. | 4 |
| Brown of Decatur, who passed away on October 9, 2007; and
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| WHEREAS, Howard E. Brown was born in Springfield on June | 6 |
| 22, 1922; he was the son of Zona Sharp Brown and Lorenza Dow | 7 |
| Brown; and
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| WHEREAS, Howard E. Brown began his education at Illinois | 9 |
| Wesleyan University, attending the college from 1941 to 1942; | 10 |
| he received his bachelor's degree in education from Illinois | 11 |
| State University and received his Masters Degree in Education | 12 |
| in 1952 from Colorado State University in Greeley, Colorado; he | 13 |
| received his Specialist in Educational Administration from | 14 |
| Eastern Illinois University in 1971 and completed further | 15 |
| graduate studies at Columbia University in New York and the | 16 |
| University of Illinois at Champaign; in 1987, Howard received | 17 |
| an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Eastern Illinois University; | 18 |
| and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, Howard E. Brown proudly served his country in the | 20 |
| United States Army during the Second World War, where he fought | 21 |
| in France, Holland, Belgium, and Germany; he served in the | 22 |
| 104th Infantry Division, Service Company 414th Regiment; he |
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| achieved the rank of Master Sergeant and earned the Combat | 2 |
| Infantryman Badge, Bronze Star, and three Campaign Oak Leaf | 3 |
| Clusters; and | 4 |
| WHEREAS, Howard E. Brown served as a professional educator | 5 |
| for 43 years; he began his teaching career at Blue Mound High | 6 |
| School in Blue Mound, where he taught world history, industrial | 7 |
| arts, and coached basketball, baseball, and track; he became | 8 |
| Principal of Blue Mound High School and then went on to become | 9 |
| the Superintendent of Blue Mound Schools; he later served as | 10 |
| Macon County Superintendent of Schools and Regional | 11 |
| Superintendent of Macon/Piatt Region; he also served as adjunct | 12 |
| professor at Millikin University and Richland Community | 13 |
| College; he became President of Richland Community College in | 14 |
| 1985, retiring from this position in 1989; and
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| WHEREAS, After his retirement, Howard E. Brown served on | 16 |
| the Richland Community College Board of Trustees and was | 17 |
| President of the Foundation for a year; during his retirement, | 18 |
| he became a member of the Golden K Kiwanis and was a founding | 19 |
| member of the ROMEO (Retired Old Men Eating Out) Club; and
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| WHEREAS, Howard E. Brown was a member of many community, | 21 |
| civic, professional, and fraternal organizations; he was a | 22 |
| 50-year member of the Rotary Club of Decatur and was elected | 23 |
| Illinois President of Rotary in 1956; in 1968, he became |
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| President of the Area 4 Superintendents Association; he was | 2 |
| President of the Decatur Area Arts Council from 1969 to 1970; | 3 |
| he became President of the Macon County Mental Health | 4 |
| Association in 1970; he was appointed by the State | 5 |
| Superintendent of Education as a member of the Teacher | 6 |
| Certification Board from 1970 to 1974; in 1975, Howard was | 7 |
| elected President of the Regional Office of Superintendents; he | 8 |
| served on the Area Junior College Steering Committee in 1976; | 9 |
| during the 1970's, he directed and wrote a statewide study on | 10 |
| declining enrollments in Illinois public schools at the request | 11 |
| of State Superintendent of Education, Dr. Joseph Cronin; he was | 12 |
| also appointed by Governor James Thompson to a statewide | 13 |
| committee to establish a Master Teacher Program for the State | 14 |
| of Illinois; in 1976, he was a member of the Macon County | 15 |
| Planning Committee for the bicentennial celebration; in 1980, | 16 |
| he served on the search committee to select a new Dean for the | 17 |
| Department of Education at Eastern Illinois University; during | 18 |
| the 1980's, he served on the Boards of the Decatur Chamber of | 19 |
| Commerce, the United Way, the YMCA, the Salvation Army, | 20 |
| Visiting Nurses, and Baby Talk; in 1982, he was Chairman of the | 21 |
| High Risk Infant Screening Committee; and | 22 |
| WHEREAS, Howard E. Brown was a Thirty Second Degree Mason, | 23 |
| an Ansar Shriner, and a member of the Decatur Shrine Club; he | 24 |
| was a member of both the VFW and American Legion; he was a past | 25 |
| member of the Macon County Historical Society and was a |
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| lifetime member of Phi Delta Kappa; and
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| WHEREAS, Howard E. Brown was a lifelong Methodist; his | 3 |
| first church was the United Methodist in Springfield; in 1940, | 4 |
| he was elected First District President of the Methodist Church | 5 |
| League; in 1942, he served as a student pastor of the Hudson | 6 |
| Methodist Church in Hudson; he was a member of the First United | 7 |
| Methodist Church of Blue Mound and then the First United | 8 |
| Methodist Church in Decatur; in 1967, he became chairman of the | 9 |
| Billy Graham Golden Prairie Crusade for Christ in Decatur; he | 10 |
| served on the First Church Foundation Board and Finance | 11 |
| Committee; he was also a Methodist Lay Speaker and soloist for | 12 |
| many church occasions; and | 13 |
| WHEREAS, Howard E. Brown was the recipient of many honors | 14 |
| during his lifetime; he received the VFW Voice of Democracy | 15 |
| Service Awards in 1968 and 1969 and from 1978 to 1980; in 1971, | 16 |
| he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Macon | 17 |
| County Council for Exceptional Children and received an | 18 |
| honorary life membership from the National Congress of Parents | 19 |
| and Teachers; he also received a Certificate of Appreciation | 20 |
| from Richland College and the Freedom's Foundation Schoolman's | 21 |
| Award in 1971; he was in Who's Who in Education in the Midwest | 22 |
| in 1971; he was a nominee for State Superintendent of Education | 23 |
| for the State of Illinois in 1980 and 1984; he received the | 24 |
| Outstanding Contributor to Alternative Education Award from |
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| the Alternative Education Association in 1984; in 1996, he | 2 |
| received the Certificate of Merit from the Illinois Community | 3 |
| College Trustees Association; in 2004, he was honored by the | 4 |
| Richland Community College Foundation Board at their first | 5 |
| Legacy Society meeting; and
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| WHEREAS, Howard E. Brown was well known for his singing | 7 |
| voice, singing at many community and civic events; one of his | 8 |
| greatest honors was the opportunity to sing at events for | 9 |
| President Ronald Reagan, President Gerald Ford, and President | 10 |
| Richard Nixon, as well as his performance at an event for | 11 |
| Vice-President Nelson Rockefeller; he will always be | 12 |
| remembered by his family and friends for his moving rendition | 13 |
| of "God Bless America"; and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, Howard E. Brown was preceded in death by his | 15 |
| brothers, Paul T. Brown and Clarence Dow Brown; and his sister, | 16 |
| Fannie Mae Brown Stone; and
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| WHEREAS, Howard E. Brown is survived by his wife of 63 | 18 |
| years, Helen Bundy Brown; his children, Bill W. (Linda) Brown, | 19 |
| Becky (Ware) Flora, and Sally (Steve) Schepper; his | 20 |
| grandchildren, Ware Flora, John Flora, Beth Denny, Jenny Brown, | 21 |
| Sarah Schepper, and PFC Philip Schepper; and his 4 | 22 |
| great-grandchildren; and
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| WHEREAS, On October 13, 2007, Howard E. Brown will be | 2 |
| inducted into the Illinois State University Hall of Fame in | 3 |
| recognition of his many accomplishments; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 5 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 6 |
| mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Howard | 7 |
| E. Brown; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 |
| presented to the family of Howard E. Brown as an expression of | 10 |
| our sympathy.
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