HR0349

LRB096 12610 KXB 25998 r






1

HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
2
    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of 
3
Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Anthony 
4
A. Antoniou of Oak Brook, who passed away on April 14, 2009; 
5
and

 
6
    WHEREAS, Mr. Antoniou was chairman and chief executive 
7
officer of Anvan Companies and Abbey Group and owned and 
8
operated six Holiday Inns; he co-developed the Drury Lane in 
9
Oak Brook; formerly owned the Knickerbocker Hotel and Barclay 
10
Hotel in downtown Chicago; and developed The Abbey, Interlaken, 
11
and the Inns of Geneva National Resorts in Wisconsin; and

 
12
    WHEREAS, A civil engineer by trade, Mr. Antoniou went into 
13
the construction business when he started Anvan Companies in 
14
1954 and built homes, and commercial and municipal buildings; 
15
in 1973, Mr. Antoniou bought The Abbey and doubled the size; 
16
that same year, he built the Interlaken Lodge, which is now the 
17
Lodge at Geneva Ridge; he also developed the Geneva Lakes 
18
Kennel Club and the Geneva National Golf Course with three golf 
19
courses designed by Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, and Lee 
20
Trevino; and

 
21
    WHEREAS, In addition to the area hotels Mr. Antoniou built 
22
and owned, he also developed 2 million square feet of office 
 


 






HR0349
- 2 -
LRB096 12610 KXB 25998 r




1
space in the western suburbs; he was born and raised in Hyde 
2
Park,  graduated from Hyde Park High School, and enlisted in the 
3
United States Navy in World War II; after his discharge in 
4
1945, he worked part time as a draftsman and also attended Kent 
5
Law School before he transferred to the University of Illinois 
6
at Chicago, where he studied civil engineering; he finished his 
7
last year of schooling at the Urbana-Champaign campus, where he 
8
met his future wife, Irene Theodore; and

 
9
    WHEREAS, He graduated in 1950 and went to work for the City 
10
of Chicago as a civil engineer and helped design the overpasses 
11
and entrances to O'Hare International Airport; a 
12
self-professed workaholic, Mr. Antoniou would often work 
13
16-hour days sometimes seven days a week; and
 
14
    WHEREAS, Mr. Antoniou served on the board of trustees of 
15
Lewis University in Romeoville and Anatolia College, a 
16
secondary school in Greece, and was on the board of directors 
17
of the Lyric Opera of Chicago for more than 25 years; and

 
18
    WHEREAS, Mr. Antoniou is survived by his wife, Irene; his 
19
sons, Vance and Andreas; his sisters, Georgia Stamat, Ann 
20
Farmans, and Celestine Maroulakis; and his seven 
21
grandchildren; therefore, be it

 
22
    RESOLVED, BY THE  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
 


 






HR0349
- 3 -
LRB096 12610 KXB 25998 r




1
NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
2
mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of 
3
Anthony Antoniou; and be it further

 
4
    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
5
presented to the family of Anthony Antoniou as a symbol of our 
6
sincere sympathy.