CHAPTER 497
FORMERLY
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 43
EXPRESSING PROFOUND SYMPATHY UPON LEARNING OF THE SUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED DEATH OF OUR COLLEAGUE, REPRESENTATIVE OAKLEY M. BANNING, JR., AGE SEVENTY-TWO, A BELOVED AND DEVOTED HUSBAND, FATHER AND GRANDFATHER WHO WILL BE TERRIBLY MISSED, AND EXTENDING DEEP SYMPATHY AND REMORSE TO MRS. ARLENE BANNING, WIFE OF OAKLEY M. BANNING, JR., AND HER FAMILY.
WHEREAS, members of the House of Representatives of the State of Delaware of the 139th General Assembly learned of the death of Oakley M. Banning, Jr. on August 4, 1997; and
WHEREAS, "Oak", as he was invariably called by all throughout Legislative Hall, was a plain-spoken, hard-working family man, who was known to speak on public policy issues unabashedly; and
WHEREAS, the unexpected and sudden death of Oak Banning occurred while he was working in his vegetable garden, an avocation he loved, particularly the growing of green lima beans; and
WHEREAS, Oak Banning was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1992, and notwithstanding his short tenure in the Delaware legislature, he was quite familiar with the process because of his many years of being an activist within the local Democrat party organization; and
WHEREAS, Oak Banning was a native of the Middletown area, and he held many different jobs to include car salesman, carpenter, New Castle County Government, and in 1975 he was appointed Executive Director of the State's Victims of Violent Crimes Compensation Board, a position he held for 15 years before retiring; and
WHEREAS, Oak Banning worked tirelessly in the legislature helping to craft legislation that not only benefited his constituents, but proved to be benevolent acts for the benefit of all citizens of the State; and
WHEREAS, Oak Banning represented the 9th District at a time when southern New Castle County was witnessing its most rapid and explosive growth, and to no one's surprise, Oak had begun to legislatively address this uncontrolled growth through many legislative proposals; and
WHEREAS, Oak Banning, despite being in the minority, served on some of the most significant House Standing Committees to which some of the most important legislation introduced was channeled for consideration; they were Judiciary, Corrections, Public Safety, Land Use and Infrastructure and Transportation; and
WHEREAS, Oak Banning's tenure as a Representative can be best classified as quintessential, always working in a bipartisan manner with Democrats and Republicans alike, caring less about what party one belonged to, but concentrating on an equitable resolution of the issue at hand; and
WHEREAS, Oak Banning will not only be sadly missed by his family and dearest friends, he will be missed by each of us as we continue to strive to do the work for which our constituents sent us here to do.
BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the House of Representatives of the 139th General Assembly of the State of Delaware, expressions of sympathy are hereby expressed to Mrs. Arlene Banning and her family upon the sudden and unexpected death of Oakley M. Banning, Jr., age 72, of Middletown, Delaware.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that upon passage of this Resolution, a suitably prepared copy be forwarded to Mrs. Arlene Banning of Middletown, Delaware.
Approved January 14, 1998