SR0982 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0982 LRB100 15113 MST 29963 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Louis L. Mervis of Danville, who passed away on October 8, 2017; and

WHEREAS, Louis Mervis was born in Danville to Isadore and Martha Ann Friedman Mervis on August 26, 1934; he graduated from Roselawn Grade School and became a standout at Danville High School, where he was an honor student, excelled at football, baseball, and wrestling, sang in the a cappella choir, and edited sports news for the Maroon and White newspaper; he married Sybil Stern in Bloomington on August 10, 1958; and

WHEREAS, Louis Mervis attended Indiana University, where he joined the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity and rose to president during his sophomore year; he served on the Board of Aeons and helped integrate the Bloomington barbershops; he also served as vice president of his junior class and ran for student body president; he graduated magna cum laude in 1956 with an accounting degree; he immediately joined the military as a second lieutenant in the tank division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky; and

WHEREAS, Louis Mervis returned to Danville to join his father in their family scrap business; he expanded the business by purchasing several other scrap yards; today, Mervis Industries is still based in Danville and is one of the largest family-owned scrap processing companies in the United States; he served as president of the Chicago chapter of the Institute of Scrap Iron and Steel; and

WHEREAS, At just 29 years of age, Louis Mervis won a seat on the local school board, one of the youngest people ever elected to the Danville District 118 Board of Education; he served two terms and was president of the board when the district went to half-day sessions to force passage of a much-needed school referendum; he helped settle a potential teacher's strike in 1976; at the request of Governors James Thompson and Jim Edgar, he served 17 years on the Illinois State Board of Education, several as chairman; he later served as education task force chair for the Illinois Business Roundtable; he was recognized by the National Association of State School Boards as one of three outstanding school board members in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Louis Mervis served as a Director of the Old National Bank from 1985 until 2004; he served as chair of the city zoning board, President and Campaign Chair of the Danville United Way, Vice President of Lakeview Hospital, and chair of the regional board for Provena Hospitals in central Illinois; he was a member of the building committee for the Mervis unit of the local Boys and Girls Club; and

WHEREAS, One of the proudest achievement's of Louis Mervis was the Danville Area Economic Development Corporation, now known as Vermilion Advantage; he was a founding member and served as president and adviser; he played a significant role in bringing numerous businesses to the area; he re-purposed many of the area's abandoned buildings; he aided in the construction of the Danville library; and

WHEREAS, Louis Mervis endowed chairs at his collegiate alma mater; he made the initial gift to fund Illinois Promise, a program to help minority and first-in-the-family college students graduate from the University of Illinois without debt; he funded four scholarships in the Borns program; a scholarship at the Kelley School of Business was funded in his name, as a gift from his children; his family has provided 92 scholarships to Danville Area Community College students over the years; he and his wife funded several initiatives at Indiana University; they established the chair in Jewish Culture and the Arts in the Robert and Sandra Borns Jewish Studies Program at Indiana University; and

WHEREAS, Louis Mervis was awarded many honors over the years, including being chosen Danville's First Citizen in 1978 at the age of 44; he and his wife were honored by the Danville District 118 School Foundation in 2002; as a couple, they were inducted into the first Vermilion County Business Hall of Fame in 2012; they were recognized at the Danville Area Community College Founders Day in 2013 and were awarded the Indiana University Foundation President's Medallion in May of 2013; in May of 2017, Lou was one of two leaders to be awarded the first honorary associate degree from Danville Area Community College; and

WHEREAS, Louis Mervis was a member of Congregation Anshe Knesset Israel in Danville for 80 years until it closed; he then joined Congregation Shaarey Tefila in Carmel, Indiana; he was also a member of the Standard Club in Chicago and the Jaycees, who awarded him their Distinguished Service Award; and

WHEREAS, Louis Mervis coached his sons' ball teams; in 1995, he purchased the local ice hockey team, renaming it the Danville Wings; he established it as a Junior A youth hockey team and helped develop it into the most outstanding Junior A hockey program in America; the Wings sent more than 260 young men to colleges and universities on scholarships as Division I players; the team won the North American Hockey League community service award for four consecutive years - more than any other team; and

WHEREAS, Louis Mervis was active on the political scene for years, always supporting the best candidates regardless of political affiliation; and

WHEREAS, Louis Mervis enjoyed following the Chicago Bears, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Chicago Blackhawks, listening to classical music, and relaxing at Riverbend, his home in the countryside; he also enjoyed tennis with his favorite partners, Coach Paul Shebby and Bill Stuebe; and

WHEREAS, Louis Mervis was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Selma Young; and

WHEREAS, Louis Mervis is survived by his wife of 59 years, Sybil; his children, Adam (Laurel Kroack), Phillip (Sheryl Facktor), Michael (Julie Weisfeld), Joshua (Lynn Eicken), and Ellen (Liam Tully), and those he raised as if they were his children, Jeffrey Cohodes, Pavel Nejezchleb, and Carla DuChene; his grandchildren, Alec, Devon, and Audra, Isaac, Joseph, Sam, and Gabriel, and Zoe, Gideon, Solomon, Meira, and Camille; and his sister, Jacqueline (Dr. Ted Silberstein) Mack; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Louis L. Mervis, and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Louis Mervis as an expression of our deepest sympathy.