RICHARD P. MYERS

Richard Myers

State Representative Richard “Rich” P. Myers, 62, of Colchester died at 8:55 p.m. Dec. 1, 2010, at McDonough District Hospital.

He was born Dec. 27, 1947, in Macomb, a son of John and Martha Myers. He married Christine Sims on Aug. 9, 1975, in North Henderson. She survives.

Also surviving are one daughter, Alison; his mother, Martha; and two brothers, Donald (and Sue) Myers and Charles (and Ann) Myers.

He was preceded in death by his son, Nicholas; his father, John; and one brother, Wendell who died in infancy.

He graduated from Colchester High School in 1966 and earned a B.S. in agronomy from Western Illinois University in 1973.

He served six years in the United States Army Reserves.

He farmed the family farm for 29 years before becoming a full-time legislator.

He served as State Representative since 1995.

He was an active member and elder of Scotland Trinity Presbyterian Church.

During his farming career, he was active in the Farm Bureau organization, serving in various capacities at the local, state and national levels. He served 12 years as a member of the Board of Directors of Illinois Farm Bureau. During that time, he represented the Illinois Farm Bureau on the Board of Directors of Interstate Producers Livestock Association, U.S. Meat Export Federation and other agriculture-related organizations.

Representative Myers served several years as minority spokesperson of the Appropriations-Higher Education Committee and was an advocate for increased funding for the state’s public colleges and universities, and for the state’s community college system. He also served on the Agriculture and Conservation, Higher Education, State Government Administration, Elections and Campaign Reform and Renewable Energy committees. He served as a member of Passenger Rail Caucus, a group of legislators advocating for continued and expanded Amtrak service throughout the state.

He was co-chair of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, a bi-partisan legislative commission of members from both chambers. Their responsibilities include forecasting state revenue projections, oversight of employee insurance programs and conducting hearings on proposed closure of state facilities.

Beyond Illinois, he served as co-chair of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee of the Midwest Legislative Conference of the Council of State Governments. The Midwest Legislative Conference is a regional organization of legislators covering 11 mid-western states and three Canadian provinces.

Services were held Sunday at University Union Grand Ballroom on the Campus of Western Illinois University. Burial was held at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Colchester.

Jones Mortuary and Dodsworth Piper Wallen Funeral Homes were in charge of arrangements.

Memorials may be made to Scotland Trinity Presbyterian Church, McDonough District Hospital or the Representative Rich Myers Agricultural Scholarship at Western Illinois University.

Condolences may be sent to jonesmortuaryfh.com or dodsworthfh.com.

Published in the Astoria South Fulton Argus on 12/8/2010