Full Text of SR0863 97th General Assembly
SR0863 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are deeply | 3 | | saddened to learn of the death of Gerhart Kopf of Fulton, who | 4 | | died on August 10, 2012; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Gerhart Kopf was born in Eddyville, Nebraska, on | 6 | | December 29, 1919, to Niels and Lydia Struempler Kopf; he | 7 | | married Alice L. Schmidt on July 7, 1941; they celebrated their | 8 | | 70th anniversary in 2011; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Gerhart Kopf was raised on a homestead ranch in | 10 | | Dawson County, Nebraska, and attended a one-room school through | 11 | | the eighth grade; he graduated from Lexington High School, | 12 | | where he developed his gift to play piano by ear and played | 13 | | with a midwest traveling swing band during the Big Band Era; he | 14 | | attended the University of Nebraska before returning to the | 15 | | ranch during the Great Depression; he remained an ardent | 16 | | Nebraska Cornhuskers fan; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Gerhart Kopf served in the U.S. Army during World | 18 | | War II and later farmed near Eddyville, Nebraska; he worked for | 19 | | Steckley Hybrid Corn Company in Lincoln and Grand Island and | 20 | | eventually settled in Fulton in 1955; he worked for Drives Inc. | 21 | | until 1981 and traveled extensively in the U.S. and Canada; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Gerhart Kopf established the Bald Eagle Nursery | 2 | | outside Fulton in 1981 and became a respected authority on | 3 | | ornamental grasses, chestnuts, hazelnuts, and hicans; he was | 4 | | instrumental in developing the Twin Ponds Research Farm near | 5 | | Galena Territory; he was a respected advocate and expert on | 6 | | bluebirds and shared his knowledge of chimney swift migration | 7 | | and lectured on local geologic history; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Gerhart Kopf served on the Fulton School Board and | 9 | | as an elder at his church; he was honored as Grand Marshal of | 10 | | the 2001 Dutch Days and was awarded a key to the city of | 11 | | Fulton; he continued to play piano in venues such as the | 12 | | Clinton Country Club and Fulton Senior Citizen Center; he | 13 | | enjoyed fine wine and dining, especially New Orleans cuisine; | 14 | | he looked forward to playing euchre with his friends and took | 15 | | great pride in becoming co-champion of the 3rd Annual Euchre | 16 | | Tournament in January of 2011; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Gerhart Kopf was preceded in death by his parents, | 18 | | Niels and Lydia Struempler; his brothers, Ferdinand, Donald, | 19 | | and Aaron; and his sister, Arleen; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Gerhart Kopf is survived by his wife, Alice | 21 | | Schmidt; his children, Connie (Dean) Long, Trudy (Michael) | 22 | | Landwirth, Pamela (Glenn) Gealy, Kyle (Kim) and Kendall; his | 23 | | grandchildren, Christina and Joseph (Marie) Long, Amy |
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| 1 | | Landwirth, Matthew and Rachel Gealy, and Kelly, Scott, and | 2 | | Nicholas Kopf; his great-grandson, Orion Long; his sister, | 3 | | Dolores; and many nieces and nephews; therefore, be it
| 4 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 5 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the death of | 6 | | Gerhart Kopf, and we extend our sincere condolences to his | 7 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 8 | | further
| 9 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 10 | | presented to the family of Gerhart Kopf as an expression of our | 11 | | deepest sympathy.
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