HR0837 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0837 LRB098 20154 MST 55601 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate John Hugo Wredling on the occasion of his 100th birthday; and

WHEREAS, John Wredling was born on March 16, 1914 in Aurora to Hugo and Alma Johnson; he attended Aurora College, where he was Freshman class president, a member of the Drama Club, played football and basketball, and was the Boys Sports Reporter for The Aurora Borealis; and

WHEREAS, John Wredling taught for 3 years at Lincoln Elementary school in Aurora before moving to West Virginia; he married Gladys May Walker in 1942 in Monroe, West Virginia; and

WHEREAS, John Wredling enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces on November 17, 1942 and was stationed in England as part of the 482nd Bomb Group and 812th Bomb Squad; the 482nd Bomb Group, the Pathfinders, were credited as having the first American B-17 Bomber to release its bombs on the German capital of Berlin on March 4, 1944; they kept the attack going relentlessly and at an ever increasing pace despite severe weather, the need for improvisation under trying conditions, and determined enemy opposition; and

WHEREAS, John Wredling returned to the United States in June of 1945; he worked as the Assistant Superintendent of Schools in West Aurora from 1950-1958, as the Superintendent of Schools in St. Charles from 1958-1972, and as Assistant Superintendent of schools from 1972 to 1977; and

WHEREAS, John Wredling received the Charlemagne Award from the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce in 1997 for his continuing history of voluntary service to the community; he has volunteered with the Boy Scouts, the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Rotary Club; and

WHEREAS, Continuing population growth in School District 303 resulted in the opening of the Wredling Middle School in the Fall of 1995; further growth warranted converting the original Wredling building into St. Charles North High School for the Fall of 2000, and Wredling Middle School moved into another facility; it was named in honor of John Wredling being Superintendent during a period of rapid growth from 1958 to 1972 and his continued involvement with the St. Charles community; and

WHEREAS, John Wredling has spent most of his life in the Fox Valley area and all 3 of his children graduated from St. Charles School District 303; he will turn 100 on March 16th, 2014; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate John Hugo Wredling on his 100th birthday and wish him many more happy and healthy years to come; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to John Wredling as an expression of our esteem and respect.