Bill Text: IL SR0185 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Mourns the death of Donald E. Drake of Woodstock.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2009-04-02 - Resolution Adopted [SR0185 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2009-SR0185-Introduced.html

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SR0185 LRB096 12113 KXB 24240 r
SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
learn of the death of Donald E. Drake of Woodstock, who passed
away on February 6, 2009; and
WHEREAS, He was born September 28, 1942, in Biloxi,
Mississippi, to Ernest and Doris (Kobel) Drake; he graduated
from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, earning both
his bachelor's and master's degrees; he took pride in being the
first in his family to graduate from college; and
WHEREAS, He taught at Mattoon High School in Mattoon in the
early 1960s; he later moved to Antioch, where he taught
economics and managed media services at Antioch High School
from 1966 to 1971; the longest span of his professional career
was spent at College of Lake County in Grayslake, where he
directed the college's audio-visual and instructional media
programs from 1971 to 1989 and was heavily involved in
development of the college's distance learning programs; and
WHEREAS, In 1989 he left the college to accept the position
of executive director at the Northern Illinois Learning'
Resources Cooperative (NILRC), a statewide cooperative that
negotiated development and purchase of telecourses and other
media products and services for community colleges; he took

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early retirement from education in 1996; and
WHEREAS, For several years, he worked as a professional
photographer, photographing weddings, athletic teams, and
families; he also was co-owner of Horizon Travel in Twin Lakes,
Wisconsin, and was involved in planning and organizing group
cruises; and
WHEREAS, In 1991 he married Dorothy Regan of Woodstock,
also an administrator at College of Lake County; they lived in
Woodstock from 1991 to 1995, then relocated to LaCrosse,
Wisconsin; they returned to McHenry County in 1998 when Dorothy
took the position of vice president for development and
director of the college foundation at McHenry County College in
Crystal Lake; they lived in Harvard until returning to
Woodstock in 2006; and
WHEREAS, He was a past member of the Woodstock Public
Library Board of Directors, a regular volunteer at Illinois
State wrestling tournaments, a knowledgeable movie buff, a fan
of HO model trains, and an avid traveler; he and his wife
returned only three weeks before his death from a vacation in
Australia and New Zealand; he took pride in having traveled
through 19 countries; he loved all dogs but had a special
affection for his basset hound, Morgan; and

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WHEREAS, He and his wife were members of Resurrection
Catholic Church in Woodstock; he took pride in his involvement
in the RCIA program in 1991-92, which marked his entry into the
Catholic faith; and
WHEREAS, He was the loving husband of Dorothy (Regan)
Drake; the cherished son of Doris (Kobel) Drake; the brother of
Karl (Mary) Drake and David (Lynn) Drake; the loving
brother-in-law of Barbara (Regan) Pokorny, Michael (Karen)
Regan, and John Regan; and the proud uncle of Matthew Drake,
Nicholas Drake, Kathleen (John) Slade, Diane (James)
Pokorny-Wilson, John J. (Maria) Pokorny, Craig Drake, Missy
(John) Bryant, and Jeramy Drake; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
his family and friends, the passing of Donald Drake; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
presented to the family of Donald Drake as a symbol of our
sincere sympathy.