HR0111

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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of  
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Representatives are pleased to honor Melvin J. Larson for his 
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54 years of dedicated service as a board member and founder of 
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United Cerebral Palsy of Will County, now UPC of Illinois 
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Prairieland; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Melvin Larson was born on May 28, 1914 on a farm 
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in the rural Red River Valley of northwestern Minnesota; he 
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attended and graduated from a one-room school of 30 students 
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for all 8 grades; he left school at age 14 to work on the family 
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farm; he entered high school at the age of 21 and graduated in 
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1938 at the age of 25; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Melvin Larson attended college at Concordia 
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College in Morehead, Minnesota, receiving his bachelor's 
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degree in chemistry in 1942; he then performed graduate studies 
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at the University of Minnesota, and then attended the 
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University of Chicago, where he received his master's degree in 
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higher education in 1952; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Melvin Larson was employed as a research chemist 
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with the Lindsay Chemical Company from 1942 to 1945; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Melvin Larson has had a long and distinguished 
 


 






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career in education; he began his career as an instructor in 
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chemistry at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, 
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serving from 1946 to 1948; he served as the chairperson of the 
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chemistry department at Waldorf Junior College in Forest City, 
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Iowa from 1948 to 1949; he was the assistant to the academic 
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dean at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota from 1949 to 
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1951; he served as an instructor of chemistry at Joliet Junior 
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College from 1954 to 1956, chairman of the college's Department 
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of Chemistry from 1956 to 1965, and chairman of the college's 
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Department of Physical Sciences from 1965 until 1979, when he 
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became a professor emeritus at the college; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Melvin Larson is the proud founder and 54-year 
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member of the United Cerebral Palsy affiliate in Will County 
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and was responsible for the organization's initial inquiries of 
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local families of children with cerebral palsy and the 
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initiation of grassroots community efforts to provide 
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essential services for the children; starting out as a 
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classroom for six children in a Joliet grad school, the 
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organization now operates a school for 60 children between the 
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ages of 3 and 22 which provides comprehensive educational and 
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therapeutic programs for children with profound developmental 
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disabilities; Mr. Larson has served on the organization's Board 
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of Directors since 1955 and has served in all of the 
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organization's offices; and

 
 


 






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    WHEREAS, Melvin Larson is a member of numerous professional 
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and community organizations, including the American Chemical 
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Society, the American Association of University Professors, 
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the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Rotary Club, 
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the Lions Club, the Elks Club, and the Joliet Family Counseling 
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Agency; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Melvin Larson serves as a model of hard work, 
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integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of 
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Illinois; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
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honor Melvin J. Larson for his many years of dedicated service 
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with United Cerebral Palsy of Will County and wish him 
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continued success and happiness in his future endeavors; and be 
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it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to Melvin Larson as a symbol of our esteem and 
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respect.