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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.