SR2030 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR2030 LRB100 22211 MST 40778 r

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 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 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.