SR0737 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Ruben Avelar of Garland, Texas, who passed away on April 17, 2012; and

WHEREAS, Ruben Avelar was born on August 8, 1927, in El Paso, Texas; his parents were Vicente and Nicolasa Avelar; he married his second wife, Martha, in September of 1959, in El Paso, Texas; and

WHEREAS, As a child, Ruben Avelar and his family worked as migrant farmers in California; he graduated from Bowie High School in El Paso, Texas in 1945; and

WHEREAS, After high school, Ruben Avelar joined the United States Army after VE Day during the closing months of World War II; after the end of the war, he saw overseas duty in post-war Korea to help keep the peace; in 1950, he was recalled into the Army as a second lieutenant in anti-aircraft artillery and served stateside both in California and at Fort Bliss; and

WHEREAS, After his Army service, Ruben Avelar attended Texas Western College (now the University of Texas at El Paso) and earned his bachelor's degree in economics; he later attended the University of Texas Law School; and

WHEREAS, Ruben Avelar began his professional career in 1952 as a labor economist with the Texas Employment Commission; in 1958, he began working for the United States Department of Labor; drawing from his upbringing as a migrant worker, he passionately learned about the U.S. Department of Labor and the federal government's tracking and caring for the migrant segment of the labor force; shortly after joining the Department of Labor, he moved his family to West Memphis, Arkansas; in 1962, he was hired by the San Francisco Regional Office of the Department of Labor in the U.S. Employment Service Division; after serving as the interim Regional Administrator for the Dallas Regional Office of the Department of Labor, he accepted a permanent position as the Deputy Regional Administrator in Dallas, Texas; in August of 1972, he and his family moved to Garland, Texas; and

WHEREAS, Ruben Avelar was heavily involved in community activism and service; while living in California, he helped form the San Francisco Civic Center Forum, a group that helped train local activists on the basics of tapping state and federal resources for any conceivable community need; he sought elective public office on the San Bruno City Council, as part of a successful effort to prevent the construction of an interstate highway through the San Bruno neighborhoods; later, while living in Garland, Texas, he began working to help educate residents about high electric rates, and in the mid-1980s was appointed to the Utility Advisory Board by the Garland City Council; after his retirement from the federal government in 1988, he became an elected member of the Garland City Council; as a member of the council, he was influential in preventing high-stakes bingo from coming to Garland; in 1997, he was asked by his neighbors to return to the Garland City Council, and he won election to the District 4 seat of South Garland in May of that year; he retired from the council after serving 2 full terms; and

WHEREAS, Ruben Avelar was a member of various local organizations, including the Garland AARP, the Garland chapter of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, and the Dallas County Workforce Development Board; and

WHEREAS, Ruben Avelar enjoyed travelling, fishing, and photography; and

WHEREAS, Ruben Avelar was preceded in death by his daughter, Jacquelyn Celeste; and

WHEREAS, Ruben Avelar is survived by his wife of 52 years, Martha; his sons, Andre' and Marc (Grace); his 2 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren; and his niece, Cecilia Farley (Bill); therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Ruben Avelar; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Ruben Avelar as an expression of our sympathy.