Bill Text: IL HR1558 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Mourns the death of former Illinois State Representative Irvin Ronald Lawfer.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 6)

Status: (Passed) 2017-01-10 - Resolution Adopted [HR1558 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-HR1558-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
Representatives have learned with deep sorrow of the death of
our friend and former colleague, State Representative Irvin
Ronald Lawfer of Jo Daviess County, who passed away on December
18, 2016; and
WHEREAS, A native of Illinois, Representative Lawfer was
born on May 15, 1934, in Kent; he attended grade school at
Wards Grove School and graduated from Stockton High School in
1951; he majored in agriculture and journalism at the
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he worked as a
reporter, covering stories for the "Daily Illini" and the
"Champaign News-Gazette"; as a young man with deep ties to
agriculture, he pledged at the FarmHouse Fraternity, and
presided over the house in his senior year; and
WHEREAS, Upon his graduation from the University of
Illinois in 1955, Representative Lawfer married Patricia A.
"Pat" Renken, who was his wife partner in life for 61 years;
and
WHEREAS, In 1955, at the height of the Cold War,
Representative Lawfer joined the United States Army; he was
commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and served on the front

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lines of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ); he brought new
Illinois findings in the reduction of soil erosion to the
attention of his superior officers and was seconded to the
Engineering Division of the Eighth Division, working on soil
erosion reduction projects at U.S. installations throughout
the peninsula and earning the Army Commendation Ribbon for his
service; and
WHEREAS, Upon completing his term of enlistment as a First
Lieutenant in 1957, Representative Lawfer returned to
northwest Illinois and took up dairy farming in his home
township; as a member of the Midwest Dairymen Cooperative, he
was named Outstanding Dairyman of Jo Daviess County; he served
as Director and Vice-President of the Jo Daviess County Farm
Bureau, and was appointed as Chairman of the Jo Daviess County
Agricultural Extension Council; known as a man who was both an
operating farmer and an expert in land conservation, he won
many recognitions for his expertise, including the 1986 "Master
Farmer" Award from "Prairie Farmer" Magazine; he served on the
Illinois Agricultural and Stabilization Committee as an
appointee of United States Secretary of Agriculture, Earl Butz;
and
WHEREAS, As a leading local farmer and community leader,
Representative Lawfer was chosen by his neighbors for public
service; he was elected as Wards Grove Township Supervisor from

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1974 to 1982 and served on the Jo Daviess County Board from
1982 until 1992; in November of 1992, he ran to represent the
74th Representative District in the Illinois General Assembly,
winning by a narrow margin of 860 votes; so popular was his
first term service that in November of 1994, when he first ran
for re-election, he faced no opposition; and
WHEREAS, Representative Lawfer served the 74th
Representative District, which comprised all of Jo Daviess and
Stephenson Counties, and parts of Carroll, Ogle, and Whiteside
Counties; as an Illinois House member with experience in
farming, land conservation, and local government, he served as
minority spokesman on the House Committee on Agriculture &
Conservation; he also served on Counties & Townships,
Environment & Energy, and many other committees; in the 89th
General Assembly, he chaired the House Committee on Aging; and
WHEREAS, When Representative Lawfer retired from the
Illinois House of Representatives at the close of the 92nd
General Assembly, the House recognized his service by adopting
House Resolution 1127 in his honor; during his retirement, he
planned on concentrating on farming and spending time with his
family; and
WHEREAS, From the end of 2002 until the end of 2016,
Representative Lawfer fulfilled those life plans, handing his

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farming heritage on to his family; and
WHEREAS, Representative Lawfer was a lifelong member of the
Lutheran Church; he was baptized at St. John Lutheran Church in
Massbach and confirmed at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Kent; he
was a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Stockton, where he
served as member and Chairman of the church council; and
WHEREAS, Representative Lawfer and his wife had four
daughters, Kathy, Karen, Kay, and Kristine, and a son, Ronald
L.; they have nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren;
and
WHEREAS, The death of Representative Lawfer is deeply felt
by his family, friends, neighbors and all who knew him; he was
one of the men of Illinois who leaves an empty space behind him
when he goes; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we, along with his family and friends, mourn the passing of
former State Representative Irvin Ronald Lawfer; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
presented to Representative Lawfer's widow, Patricia Lawfer,

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and their family as an expression of our deepest sympathy and
respect.