Bill Text: IL SR1657 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Mourns the death of Preston F. "Pres" Helgren of Gurnee.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-05-03 - Resolution Adopted [SR1657 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-SR1657-Introduced.html
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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 Preston F. "Pres" Helgren of Gurnee, who | ||||||
4 | passed away on March 14, 2018; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Pres Helgren was born in Waukegan to Fred and | ||||||
6 | Esther Helgren on June 30, 1926; always a lover of music, he | ||||||
7 | had a fine tenor voice, and he played the clarinet in high | ||||||
8 | school; he graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison | ||||||
9 | with a degree in chemistry, where he played in the band under | ||||||
10 | the direction of Ray Dvorak; and
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11 | WHEREAS, Pres Helgren worked at Carnation in Milwaukee and | ||||||
12 | then spent the rest of his career as a research chemist at | ||||||
13 | Abbott Laboratories, where he was a specialist in gas | ||||||
14 | chromatography and amino acid analysis; while at Abbott, he met | ||||||
15 | Helen Efinger, a fellow chemist, and they celebrated 58 years | ||||||
16 | of marriage; and
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17 | WHEREAS, Pres Helgren was a lifelong member of Christ | ||||||
18 | Church in Waukegan, where he sang in the choir, served on | ||||||
19 | Vestry, and was a member of the Christ Care group; because of | ||||||
20 | his work as a volunteer for Elder Care at Christ Church, he was | ||||||
21 | named Senior Citizen of the Year by the Lake County Council for | ||||||
22 | Seniors; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Pres Helgren had many interests; he inherited a | ||||||
2 | love of gardening from his parents and was known for his | ||||||
3 | perfect yard, beautiful rose garden, and productive vegetable | ||||||
4 | garden and orchard; he and Helen were also passionate about | ||||||
5 | prairies and recreated prairie landscapes around the Gurnee | ||||||
6 | area; he collected antique cars and was active in the Waukegan | ||||||
7 | Chapter of the Antique Automobile Club of America, where he | ||||||
8 | served as president of the chapter and was on the Illinois | ||||||
9 | Region Board; he and Helen enjoyed traveling the country and | ||||||
10 | attending car meets; he eventually won the top prize, a grand | ||||||
11 | national award, with his 1933 Chevrolet; he was a voracious | ||||||
12 | reader, a die hard fan of the Wisconsin Badgers, and an avid | ||||||
13 | golfer; he generously supported the causes he held dear: the | ||||||
14 | environment, the less fortunate, education, and the arts; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Pres Helgren was preceded in death by his parents; | ||||||
16 | his wife, Helen; two of his daughters in infancy; his sister, | ||||||
17 | Mary Ellen Johnson; and his niece, Susan Johnson; and
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18 | WHEREAS, Pres Helgren is survived by his son, Daniel | ||||||
19 | (Elizabeth) Helgren; his daughter, Mary Catherine (Richard | ||||||
20 | Radek) Helgren; his step-children, Zachary Noah and Madeline | ||||||
21 | Rose; his nephews, Preston and Peter Johnson; and his best | ||||||
22 | friend, Eileen Graham; therefore, be it
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1 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | ||||||
2 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | ||||||
3 | Preston F. "Pres" Helgren and extend our sincere condolences to | ||||||
4 | his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | ||||||
5 | further
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6 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
7 | presented to the family of Pres Helgren as an expression of our | ||||||
8 | deepest sympathy.
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