SR0267 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0267 LRB094 12665 CSA 47509 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Dr. Maurice F. Rabb, Jr. of Chicago passed away on June 6, 2005; he was recognized internationally as an ophthalmologist specializing in retinal diseases; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Rabb was born in Shelbyville, Kentucky, on August 7, 1932, to Dr. Maurice F. Rabb, Sr. and Mrs. Jewel Miller Rabb; he graduated from Central Colored High School, earned a baccalaureate degree in biology from the University of Louisville in 1954, and graduated from the University of Louisville School of Medicine in 1958; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Rabb completed his medical internship at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, and studied ophthalmology at New York University; at the University of Illinois at Chicago he served as chief resident and was the first African-American resident; and

WHEREAS, After completing a cornea fellowship at the University of California at San Francisco, he obtained a grant from the Illinois Society to Prevent Blindness to relocate and medically update the Illinois Eye Bank at the University of Illinois; during his 43-year affiliation with the University he also served as a professor who received a number of awards for excellence in teaching, a founder and director of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, interim associate vice-chancellor of Urban Health, acting associate chancellor, and director of medical student education in ophthalmology; he received a special recognition award from the University for his extraordinary contributions; and

WHEREAS, At Mercy Hospital in Chicago he served as the chair of ophthalmology, president of the medical staff, a member of the Board of Directors, and a member of the Mercy Foundation Board; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Rabb served on numerous advisory committees; he was the author of textbooks and scholarly articles; he lectured at medical conferences as an expert on corneal disease and retinopathy; he was recognized by many of the most prominent medical organizations in the nation and the world; for forty years he was a dedicated member of the National Medical Association, the national 110-year old organization dedicated to the interests of African-American physicians, which showed its appreciation for his contributions by co-naming a scholarship after his and the late Dr. H. Philip Venable's commitments to patient care, teaching, and research; and

WHEREAS, He was a dedicated family man, a photographer, a world traveler, cinephile, and gadgeteer; his humor, humility, love, and kindness affected all who were part of his life; and

WHEREAS, The passing of Dr. Maurice F. Rabb, Jr. is felt by all who knew and loved him, especially his wife of 39 years, Madeline Murphy Rabb; his sons, Maurice F. Rabb III and Christopher Murphy Rabb; his mother, Jewel Miller Rabb; his uncle, Louis A. Rabb; his daughter-in-law, Prof. Imani Perry; and his grandson, Freeman Diallo Perry Rabb; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the countless contributions of Dr. Maurice F. Rabb, Jr. to his profession and community and to the health of people around the world, and we join his family and friends in their sorrow at this time of loss; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to his family as an expression of our deepest sympathy.