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92_HR0563
LRB9211058RHrh
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives wish to express our sincere condolences to
4 the family and friends of Steve Thomas, who passed away on
5 November 3, 2001; and
6 WHEREAS, Steve Thomas coached the Arcola High School
7 football team to three state championships and two runner-up
8 finishes; and
9 WHEREAS, Mr. Thomas was born on February 14, 1940 in
10 Urbana, Illinois to Kenneth and Mildred Thomas; he married
11 Judith Rasmussen on June 21, 1958 in Urbana; and
12 WHEREAS, Mr. Thomas graduated from Urbana High School in
13 1958, where he was an all-state running back; following
14 graduation, he went on to play at the University of Illinois
15 and lettered his senior year; he received his bachelor's
16 degree in 1962; and
17 WHEREAS, Mr. Thomas started his teaching career in
18 physical education at Urbana Junior High School and coached
19 freshman football under Warren Smith for three years before
20 coming to Arcola in 1965; and
21 WHEREAS, Mr. Thomas coached at Arcola from 1965 to 1994;
22 during his career at Arcola, he had 204 wins and just 88
23 losses and two ties; he led the Purple Raiders to 21 winning
24 seasons, 14 playoff seasons and 12 undefeated regular
25 seasons; his teams won the state championship in 1978, 1985
26 and 1988 and finished second in 1977 and 1991; and
27 WHEREAS, Mr. Thomas and his assistant, Byron Bradford,
28 developed a reputation for clean, well-coached, hard-hitting
29 teams that played as a unit; they were respected for liberal
30 substitutions and not unnecessarily running up scores on
31 inferior opponents; and
-2- LRB9211058RHrh
1 WHEREAS, In 1990, Mr. Thomas was one of very few football
2 coaches to be inducted into the Illinois Football Coaches
3 Hall of Fame while still an active coach; in addition, he was
4 inducted into the Urbana Athletic Hall of Fame and he had
5 been honored as Coach of the Year several times during his
6 career as a football coach; and
7 WHEREAS, In 1994, Steve and Judith Thomas were honored
8 along with Mr. and Mrs. Byron Bradford as grand marshals of
9 the Arcola Broom Corn Festival; and
10 WHEREAS, Mr. Thomas was an avid outdoorsman and his
11 hobbies included archery, hunting, fishing, antiquing, and
12 camping; he was a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic
13 Church in Arcola; and
14 WHEREAS, The passing of Steve Thomas will be deeply felt
15 by all who knew and loved him, especially his wife, Judith;
16 his sons, Mike (wife, Jennifer) Thomas, Mark (wife, Shelley)
17 Thomas, Mitch (wife, Barb) Thomas, and Matthew Thomas; his
18 daughter, Lissa (husband, Scott) Oelkers; his grandchildren,
19 Sarah, Patrick, Heather, Meghann, Matthew, Elizabeth,
20 Katherine, Martin, Stacey, Danielle, Mackenzie, Taylor,
21 Brittany, Scott, Stephen, and Jenna; his father, Kenneth
22 Thomas; and his brother, Martin L. Thomas; therefore, be it
23 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
24 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
25 we mourn, along with all who knew him, the death of Steve
26 Thomas of Arcola, Illinois; and be it further
27 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
28 presented to the family of Steve Thomas with our sincere
29 condolences.