| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are saddened by the death of
Dr. Vitor | ||||||
| 4 | Westhelle, who passed away on May 13 2018; and
| ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Dr. Westhelle was born in Taquara, Brazil on | ||||||
| 6 | January 1952 and pursued the study
of theology at the former | ||||||
| 7 | Faculdade de Teologia da IECLB in Sao Leopolodo, Brazil; he | ||||||
| 8 | continued his studies at the Lutheran School of Theology at | ||||||
| 9 | Chicago, where he earned a
Masters of Theology, and at Luther | ||||||
| 10 | Northwestern Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota
to | ||||||
| 11 | earn his Ph.D.; and
| ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, After completing his education, Dr. Westhelle | ||||||
| 13 | served as a pastor in Paroquia
Evangelica de Matelandia and as | ||||||
| 14 | the coordinator of the Commission on Land in Parana, Brazil,
| ||||||
| 15 | where he worked with those struggling for land and justice, | ||||||
| 16 | before returning to the Lutheran
School of Theology at Chicago | ||||||
| 17 | in 1993 to work as an associate professor; he was named a
full | ||||||
| 18 | professor in 1999; and
| ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, Dr. Westhelle spent his career traveling the world | ||||||
| 20 | as a visiting professor; and | ||||||
| 21 | WHEREAS, During his career, Dr. Westhelle published 14 | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | books and hundreds of articles in the
English, Spanish, and | ||||||
| 2 | Portugese languages, impacting the Lutheran church on a global | ||||||
| 3 | scale; and | ||||||
| 4 | WHEREAS, Dr. Westhelle served as a valuable mentor to | ||||||
| 5 | countless students over the decades of
his career; and
| ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, In the final weeks of his remarkable life, Dr. | ||||||
| 7 | Westhelle was granted the prestigious title
Doctor Honoris | ||||||
| 8 | Causa in Theology in Latin America from the Executive Council | ||||||
| 9 | of Faculdades
Escola Superior de Teologia; and
| ||||||
| 10 | WHEREAS, Dr. Westhelle is survived by his wife of over 40 | ||||||
| 11 | years, Christiane; his sons, Carlos
Henrique, André, and | ||||||
| 12 | Felipe; three daughters-in-law; and two granddaughters; | ||||||
| 13 | therefore, be it
| ||||||
| 14 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 15 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 16 | we mourn the passing of Dr. Vitor Westhelle and extend our | ||||||
| 17 | sincere condolences to his family, friends and all who knew and | ||||||
| 18 | loved him; and be it further
| ||||||
| 19 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 20 | presented to the family of Dr. Westhelle
as an expression of | ||||||
| 21 | our deepest sympathy.
| ||||||