SR0019 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0019 LRB097 06616 KXB 46701 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Mary Lou Duesterhaus of Quincy, who passed away on December 31, 2010; and

WHEREAS, She was born on May 11, 1929, near Kinderhook, the daughter of Lewis and Alice Weddington Kenady; she married Donald M. Duesterhaus on October 18, 1952, in St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Quincy; and

WHEREAS, She grew up as the third youngest of 11 children on a small farm north of Kinderhook during the Great Depression and World War II; she referred to herself as a "farm girl"; her family moved to Loraine after the war and she graduated from Mendon High School in 1947; and

WHEREAS, After working as a full-time homemaker and raising 10 children, she embarked on a second career as a driver's license examiner for the Illinois Secretary of State; she was a lifetime member of the Women's Democratic Club; she served as an election judge and a Democratic precinct committeeman for many years; and

WHEREAS, She and her husband, a former Quincy alderman and deputy mayor, were named Grass Roots Activists of the Year by the Adams County Democratic Central Committee in recognition of their work for the local Democratic Party; and

WHEREAS, Following her retirement in 1994, she devoted most of her time to three great passions: baking, gardening, and her grandchildren; she was a longtime member of St. Francis Catholic Church; and

WHEREAS, She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; her brothers, Lewis "Junior" Kenady and Robert Kenady; and her sisters, Louise Earnst, Rosella Morley, Wilma Kuhlman, Bethany Banowitz, Josephine Miller, and Jeanne Jackson; and

WHEREAS, Mary Lou Duesterhaus is survived by her children, Joseph A. Duesterhaus and his wife, Laura, D. Mark Duesterhaus and his wife, Denise, Steven K. Duesterhaus and his wife, Glori, and Paul M. Duesterhaus and his wife, Mary Ann, Mary Beth Duesterhaus, Gregory L. Duesterhaus, Jonathan L. Duesterhaus and his wife, Susan, Kevin F. Duesterhaus and his wife, Sandy,, Timothy J. Duesterhaus and his wife, Teresa, and Todd W. Duesterhaus and his wife, Taffy; her 26 grandchildren; her 5 great-grandchildren; her sisters, Lillian Westphal and Faith Ervin; her sisters-in-law, Neva Kenady and Gwen Kenady; her brother-in-law, Melvin Arns; and her numerous nieces and nephews; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with her family and friends, the passing of Mary Lou Duesterhaus; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Mary Lou Duesterhaus as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.