Kankakee area Lawyer and former State Representative, Jack Beaupre, passed away Tuesday, September 24, 2019 at his home following a lingering illness.

He was born July 21, 1936 in Kankakee, the son of Sylvester & Mardell (Wools) Beaupre. Jack is survived by his wife, Sandra (Johnson) Beaupre, whom he married in 2011; two daughters, Susan Beaupre Lindholm of West Palm Beach, FL and Nancy (Fred) Beaupre Waldschmidt of Bourbonnais; three grandsons, Thomas Waldschmidt, Jack Waldschmidt, and Harrison Lindholm; and one sister, Lana (Randy) Beaupre Waselewski of Bourbonnais.

Jack is preceded in death by his parents.

Jack was a 1954 graduate of Bradley Bourbonnais Community High School. He was a first generation 1958 graduate of the University of Illinois, and a 1966 graduate of the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

Jack served as clerk of the Circuit Court from 1964-1972. At the time he was the youngest elected official in Kankakee County. During his two terms in the legislature from 1972-1976, he served on the House Higher Education Committee, Revenue Committee, the Insurance Standing Committee, and was chairman of the special committee on Women's athletics, which oversaw the implementation of Title IX in high school and collegiate sports in Illinois.

Jack was an Illinois representative to the National Association of State Legislators, served on the Illinois Medical Malpractice Commission, and the Joint House-Senate Revenue Committee, acting as chief house sponsor of the committee's successful legislation (House bill 990). Jack was coveted as a chief sponsor of legislation and had a 92% passage rate during his second term. While Jack handled numerous significant bills, he is probably mostly remembered by local voters for restoring the original French pronunciation of the Village of Bourbonnais during the Centennial celebration. Jack was named "Outstanding Legislator" by the Independent Colleges and Universities of Illinois in 1976. Jack served in all three branches of state government during his career.

Jack served his country in the United States Army active reserves for over ten years. Upon graduation from the University of Illinois, he was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the United States Army Reserves, and eventually graduated from the US Field Artillary School, the Army's Air Defense Artillery school, and the Army's Command and Staff school. Jack was the company commander of the Kankakee National Guard until it was deployed as a first respondent to the Chicago riots following the Martin Luther King assassination.

Locally, Jack, an avid fisherman, and his longtime friend, Gordon Graves, founded the Northern Illinois Anglers Association, a local environmental group, and the Alliance to Restore the Kankakee River. He was also a co-founder of the Kankakee Legal Aid Society, a member of the Board for the Kankakee Training Center for the disabled, and a member of the St. Mary's Hospital Advisory Board.

Jack was a trustee of Governor's State University for 16 years and served as Chairman of the Board during the University transition to a four-year residential University.

In 1976, Jack was named a distinguished Illinois Counselor by the Board of Directors of the Illinois State Bar Association, of which he was a member of as well as the Kankakee County Bar Association.

A visitation will be held from 4-8 p.m. Friday, September 27, 2019 at Clancy-Gernon Funeral Home in Bourbonnais. A funeral mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday, September 28, 2019 at Maternity B.V.M. Catholic Church in Bourbonnais. Interment will follow at Maternity B.V.M. Cemetery in Bourbonnais.

Memorials may be made to Hospice of Kankakee Valley, Maternity B.V.M. Catholic Church, or the family wishes.

Clancy-Gernon Funeral Home