093_SR0066

 
                                     LRB093 10126 KEF 11610 r

 1                          SENATE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, The members  of  the  Senate  of  the  State  of
 3    Illinois  were  saddened  to learn of the death of Helen Walz
 4    Healy of the Beverly neighborhood of Chicago at 79  years  of
 5    age; and

 6        WHEREAS,  Mrs. Healy was raised with a brother and sister
 7    in the South Shore neighborhood and attended Catholic schools
 8    from kindergarten through college; in  the  early  1950s  she
 9    learned  about  a  movement within the Catholic Church called
10    Opus Dei; and

11        WHEREAS, Opus Dei means "work of god" and it  provided  a
12    way   of   living  that  she  found  inspiring;  through  its
13    teachings, she discovered that her work could be a  means  of
14    practicing her faith to be closer to God; and

15        WHEREAS,  In  1954,  Mrs.  Healy  became one of the first
16    members of the U.S. branch of Opus Dei, which was founded  in
17    Spain in the 1920s; and

18        WHEREAS,  Mrs.  Healy  married  Maurice Healy in 1948 and
19    they raised seven children; Mrs. Healy started  a  stationery
20    and  bridal  business  in 1970, which she ran out of her home
21    until  recently;  along  with  her  business  she  also   put
22    considerable energy into Opus Dei activities; and

23        WHEREAS,  In  1974,  Mrs.  Healy helped found the Willows
24    Academy, a private school  for  girls  in  6th  through  12th
25    grade;  in  1977, she helped found Lexington College, a small
26    culinary school for women; both schools teach Opus Dei,  with
27    its  emphasis  on  getting closer to God through normal daily
28    activities; and

29        WHEREAS, In 1991, Mrs. Healy was part of the  group  that
30    pushed  the  Chicago  archdiocese  to  reopen St. Mary of the
31    Angels Church and have Opus Dei run the facility; and
 
                            -2-      LRB093 10126 KEF 11610 r
 1        WHEREAS, Over the years, Mrs. Healy was praised  for  her
 2    efforts  by the organizations she was associated with and was
 3    honored by Lexington College, having a scholarship foundation
 4    named after her; and

 5        WHEREAS, Her passing will be deeply felt by all who  knew
 6    and  loved  her,  especially  her  husband, Maurice; her four
 7    sons,  Maurice,  Michael,  John,  and   Joseph;   her   three
 8    daughters,  Mary Grace Healy, Mary Loretta Coultrip, and Mary
 9    Florence   Trunk;   her    27    grandchildren;    and    her
10    great-grandchild; therefore, be it

11        RESOLVED,  BY  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  NINETY-THIRD GENERAL
12    ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the death of
13    Helen Walz Healy and extend our sincere  condolences  to  her
14    family and friends; and be it further

15        RESOLVED,  That  a  suitable  copy  of this resolution be
16    presented to the family of Helen Walz Healy with our  deepest
17    sympathy.