State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_SR0331

 
                                               LRB9216111RHrh

 1                          SENATE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, The members  of  the  Illinois  Senate  wish  to
 3    express  their  sincere condolences to the family and friends
 4    of Rudolph "Rudy" Klena, who  passed  away  on  December  24,
 5    2001; and

 6        WHEREAS,  Rudolph  "Rudy" Klena was a retired sports shop
 7    owner who was instrumental in starting Little League baseball
 8    in Westmont; and

 9        WHEREAS,  Born  in  Chicago,  Mr.  Klena   grew   up   in
10    unincorporated  Westmont at a time where the closest neighbor
11    was a block away and there were more dirt  roads  than  paved
12    ones through the farms and prairies; and

13        WHEREAS,  In  1956,  Mr. Klena built a home in Darien for
14    his wife and young children; he also opened  a  small  sports
15    equipment  store  in  downtown  Westmont called Rudy's Sports
16    Shop; and

17        WHEREAS, Mr. Klena got a kick out of the kids  coming  in
18    every  spring  and  buying  their  new baseball bats with the
19    money they'd saved  all  year,  however,  there  weren't  any
20    organized  leagues  in  the  area,  and  the kids were always
21    looking for someplace to play; as a result, Mr. Klena  and  a
22    couple  of other local fathers decided to organize Westmont's
23    first Little League program; and

24        WHEREAS,  In  search  of  financial  support,  Mr.  Klena
25    approached the Comiskey family, then-owners  of  the  Chicago
26    White   Sox   and   residents  of  Hinsdale,  to  ask  for  a
27    contribution to start a league; help came in a big  way  from
28    the Comiskey family, and Westmont's Little League Program was
29    officially underway; and

30        WHEREAS,  Mr.  Klena  closed his sports shop in the early
31    1960s, but continued working as a carpenter  for  local  home
 
                            -2-                LRB9216111RHrh
 1    builders;  in  1976  he  retired  and  moved  to Carson City,
 2    Nevada; and

 3        WHEREAS, The passing of  Rudolph  "Rudy"  Klena  will  be
 4    deeply  felt  by  all  who knew and loved him, especially his
 5    wife of 61 years, LaFern; his son, Bill; his daughters, Nancy
 6    Soong and Sue Merriwether; his brother,  Dave;  his  sisters,
 7    Vickie   Guenther   and   Theresa  Gottshalk;  and  his  four
 8    grandchildren; therefore, be it

 9        RESOLVED, BY THE  SENATE  OF  THE  NINETY-SECOND  GENERAL
10    ASSEMBLY  OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
11    all who knew him, the death of Rudolph "Rudy" Klena  formerly
12    of Darien; and be it further

13        RESOLVED,  That  a  suitable  copy  of this resolution be
14    presented to the family of  Rudolph  "Rudy"  Klena  with  our
15    sincere condolences.

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