Bill Text: IL SR2030 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Mourns the death of Charles "Chuck" Raymond Dressel of River Forest.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2018-11-15 - Resolution Adopted [SR2030 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-SR2030-Introduced.html

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SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
learn of the death of Charles "Chuck" Raymond Dressel of River
Forest, who passed away on January 22, 2018; and
WHEREAS, Chuck Dressel was born in Oak Park to Raymond and
Blanche Dressel on September 11, 1949, the oldest of four
siblings; he attended Grace Lutheran School and became an
accomplished athlete in football, wrestling, and track & field
at Oak Park and River Forest High School, where he was named
the school's 1967 Athlete of the Year; and
WHEREAS, As a senior, Chuck Dressel was honored as an
all-star football athlete by the Chicago Tribune and received
the Knute Rockne Award, bestowed by the University of Notre
Dame; he was also a standout three-sport athlete at Princeton
University; and
WHEREAS, Chuck Dressel graduated from Princeton University
in 1971; he returned home to assist his father with managing
the Dressel Family Hardware Store started by his grandfather in
1923, which remains one of Oak Park's oldest businesses; and
WHEREAS, Chuck Dressel met Jan Novak in 1976 when she
wandered into his store as a customer; they married soon after

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and purchased a home a few blocks from the store where they
raised three children and became active in the local sports
community, coaching youth teams and fundraising for the OPRF
Huskie Booster Club; Chuck was instrumental in securing the
funding to construct the Keystone Park batting cages, procuring
additional fields across from the high school, and lighting the
football stadium; and
WHEREAS, Chuck Dressel practiced softball pitching with
his daughters for hours on end, devotedly dragging gear and
equipment on every family vacation; he was especially keen on
passing on his love of wrestling and football to his only son,
Blake, where they were fixtures in the Little Huskies Wrestling
Club and youth football program; and
WHEREAS, Chuck Dressel's daughter, Emily, shared "He was a
rare lover of lima beans, an accomplished baritone shower
singer, and suffered from abysmal penmanship."; and
WHEREAS, Chuck Dressel is remembered for his exuberance
during snowfalls as customers filed into the store to stock up
on winter merchandise; he jokingly proclaimed that dandelions
were his favorite flower, given that he was the town's local
purveyor of weed killer; and
WHEREAS, Chuck Dressel, despite compromised physical

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mobility in his later years, adored interacting with his four
grandchildren, one of whom is currently learning the sport of
wrestling; and
WHEREAS, Chuck Dressel is survived by his wife, Jan Novak
Dressel; his children, Emily (Brad) Hampson, Amy (Bryan)
Pritchard, and Blake Dressel; his grandchildren, Brady,
Bridget, Jack, and Grace; his siblings, Beth Ann, Bob (Nora),
and Todd (Erin); and several nieces and nephews; therefore, be
it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
Charles "Chuck" Raymond Dressel, and extend our sincere
condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved
him; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
presented to the family of Chuck Dressel as an expression of
our deepest sympathy.