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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | ||||||
| 3 | learn of the death of Fred E. Koehler, founder of Lynfred | ||||||
| 4 | Winery, of Roselle, who passed away on July 16, 2011; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, In the 1920s, his grandfather and father made wine | ||||||
| 6 | for the family and local politicians; in 1975, Fred and his | ||||||
| 7 | late wife Lynn made their first batch of wine in the basement | ||||||
| 8 | of their home; in 1979, what began as a hobby that got out of | ||||||
| 9 | hand led to the opening of the first winery in Illinois with 7 | ||||||
| 10 | varieties and 5,000 gallons of wine; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, He had to overcome many obstacles along the | ||||||
| 12 | journey, like converting a residence into a commercial | ||||||
| 13 | business, convincing California vineyards to ship their grapes | ||||||
| 14 | 2,000 miles to Illinois, and fighting to get Illinois laws | ||||||
| 15 | changed to allow more freedom in producing various varieties | ||||||
| 16 | and larger quantities; in 1985, his big break came when his | ||||||
| 17 | 1983 Chardonnay earned national recognition by winning 'Best of | ||||||
| 18 | Class and Best of Show' against other prestigious California | ||||||
| 19 | wineries in a Reno, Nevada judging; one month later, the wine | ||||||
| 20 | made history by winning Double Gold at the National Restaurant | ||||||
| 21 | Show in Chicago; and
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| 22 | WHEREAS, Former Illinois Governor Jim Thompson, the mayor | ||||||
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| 1 | of Roselle, and State representative Kay Wojcik initiated the | ||||||
| 2 | groundbreaking of the new Lynfred Winery in 1990; the new | ||||||
| 3 | winery allowed Koehler's wine production to increase to almost | ||||||
| 4 | 100,000 gallons a year and more than 80 varietals; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, As the winery continued to grow, Fred acquired a | ||||||
| 6 | world-class winemaker from Chile to take over the winemaking so | ||||||
| 7 | that he could run the business; during this time he was | ||||||
| 8 | instrumental in the political workings of the emerging Illinois | ||||||
| 9 | wine industry; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, In 1999, he opened Tasting deVine (a Lynfred | ||||||
| 11 | Winery satellite store) in Wheaton, followed by a luxurious bed | ||||||
| 12 | and breakfast at the Roselle location in 2002; Tasting deVine | ||||||
| 13 | Cellars was opened in Naperville in 2004; a new Lynfred Winery | ||||||
| 14 | tasting room in Wheeling followed in 2008; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, He started his career in the restaurant business | ||||||
| 16 | when he managed Richard's Drive-In on West 95th Street in | ||||||
| 17 | Chicago; he ventured into managing country clubs, including | ||||||
| 18 | Elmhurst Country Club and Itasca Country Club; Lynfred Winery | ||||||
| 19 | began while he was still working at Itasca Country Club; and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his first wife, Lynn; | ||||||
| 21 | and | ||||||
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Fred Koehler is survived by his wife (and biggest | ||||||
| 2 | fan), Valerie Koehler; his children, Fred Koehler, Jr. and | ||||||
| 3 | Diane Koehler; his granddaughter, Katura Brooke Schramer; his | ||||||
| 4 | brother, Arthur Koehler; his stepchildren; Karen, David, and | ||||||
| 5 | Colin; his 10 grandchildren; his 6 great-grandchildren; and a | ||||||
| 6 | congregation of wine lovers; therefore, be it
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| 7 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 8 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | ||||||
| 9 | his family and friends, the passing of Fred Koehler; and be it | ||||||
| 10 | further
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| 11 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 12 | presented to the family of Fred Koehler as a symbol of our | ||||||
| 13 | sincere sympathy.
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