SR0840 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0840 LRB097 21979 GRL 70702 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of L. James "Jim" Struif, who passed away on June 26, 2012; and

WHEREAS, Jim Struif was born on September 18, 1931, in Alton; he was the son of the late Leo John and Clara Lillie (Bauer) Struif; he married Shirley Spatz Cummings in 1965; and

WHEREAS, Jim Struif graduated from Alton Senior High School in January of 1949 and Northwestern University in 1953; after leaving the Navy, he attended law school at the University of Illinois, where he graduated in 1959; and

WHEREAS, Jim Struif enlisted in the United States Navy in 1954; he served 4 years of sea duty on a submarine in the Pacific Ocean, where he was a submarine officer; and

WHEREAS, Jim Struif served as a legal counsel and as a faculty member at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville for 5 years; he was in general law practice from 1963 until his retirement in 2011 and opened a private practice in 1968; and

WHEREAS, Jim Struif was a member of the Evangelical United Church of Christ, where he was an Elder, taught Sunday school, and designed and maintained the Courtyard Garden; he was active in the Boy Scouts of America, first as a scout, then as a camp counselor and later as a Scoutmaster; he worked as a civil rights activist in Mississippi in 1966 and was one of the founders of the Madison County Urban League; he was also a life-long conservationist involved in prairie restoration and helped found the Nature Institute; and

WHEREAS, Jim Struif enjoyed gardening, magic, and music; and

WHEREAS, Jim Struif is survived by his wife, Shirley; his children, Scott Struif and his wife, Kerry, Jamie Struif-Pehowski and her husband, Steven, Susie Bazzell and her husband, Lance, and Jeff Struif and his wife, Missy; his grandchildren, Jessica Johnson, Brennan Struif, Adam Pehowski, Jenna Pehowski, Connor Bazzell, Chloe Bazzell, Lola Struif, and Hattie Struif; his great-grandchild, Collin Griffin; his sister, Jean Malone; and his many 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 his family and friends, the passing of L. James "Jim" Struif; and be it further

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