SR1330 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1330 LRB102 29665 LAW 41704 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Johanna "Hanny" Leitson, who passed away on April 1, 2022 at the age of 96; and

WHEREAS, Hanny Leitson was born to Charlotte and Max Gross in Vienna, Austria, where she also spent her childhood years; she fled Austria at the age of 13 on the Kindertransport, an emergency transport of 10,000 Jewish children from Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia to England in May 1939; she lived with a family in Cheltenham, England until 1944, when she traveled to New York City at the age of 19 to be with her mother; and

WHEREAS, Hanny Leitson earned her Bachelor of Arts in Social Work and her Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor; she worked as a social worker and therapist in Flint, Michigan; following the death of her husband, the late Morton "Mort" Leitson, she worked as a therapist in Ann Arbor; and

WHEREAS, Hanny Leitson was socially and politically engaged throughout her life, beginning as a teenager during World War II with Young Austria, an organization of exiled Austrians living in England dedicated to a free and democratic Austria; she became a civil rights activist while a university student and, later, while living in Flint; she was also an early opponent of the Vietnam War, attending the first nationwide Day of Protest against the war in Chicago in 1964; and

WHEREAS, Hanny Leitson was committed to assisting her community; she helped establish the Flint chapter of Planned Parenthood; she also aided low-income seniors living in shared affordable homes while in Ann Arbor; and

WHEREAS, Hanny Leitson was a wonderful and valued listener who loved talking with and being supportive of friends and family; and

WHEREAS, Hanny Leitson spent the last 14 years of her life in Oak Park, Illinois; and

WHEREAS, At the time of her passing, Hanny Leitson was survived by her children, Karen (Jeffrey) Grabelsky, Mark (Pamela) Leitson, and Ruth (Martin) Tatarka; her grandchildren, Leah Grabelsky, Shira Grabelsky, Jenny (Scott Macguffin) Grabelsky, Sarah Leitson, Joshua Leitson, and David Leitson; and her great-grandchild, Finnean Macguffin; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Johanna "Hanny" Leitson and extend our sincere condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it further

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