HR1065 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1065 LRB099 20904 GRL 45708 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate John William Straub on the occasion of his 90th birthday on April 14, 2016; and

WHEREAS, John Straub was born at home in Park Ridge on April 14, 1926, the year before the first talking motion picture; and

WHEREAS, John Straub survived a bout of pneumonia in fourth grade at a time when there were no antibiotics; he received his permit to drive at age 14 and lived by himself for 2 years with a housekeeper in Winnetka while his father served as Food Rationing Director for the United States under President Franklin Roosevelt; and

WHEREAS, John Straub graduated from North Shore Country Day High School in June of 1944; he then enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps, where he ensured that the Army's Boca Raton Photography Lab had all the supplies it needed, which helped to win World War II; he subsequently graduated from Yale University in 1949; and

WHEREAS, In 1951, John Straub met Jane Easter, who worked in the Marshall Field's fashion office; he married her on a hot day in Peru, Indiana on June 14, 1952; and

WHEREAS, After working at the First National Bank of Chicago, John Straub joined his father at W.F. Straub & Company, a food manufacturer, in November of 1952, where he successfully sold honey, patented dried honey, and molasses under the SlowAsMolasses label; and

WHEREAS, On August 15, 1955, John Straub and his wife had their first daughter, Joan Easter Straub, who lived her first year under the piano due to lack of space in their Chicago apartment; they had their second daughter, Jennifer Straub, on September 23, 1959; the couple lived at 528 Madison Avenue in Glencoe from 1956 to 1965, then moved to 771 Sheridan Road in Winnetka; and

WHEREAS, John Straub has traveled extensively and has danced with Ginger Rogers; he worked as a director at William Blair from 1965 until his retirement in 1996; and

WHEREAS, John Straub has been actively involved in volunteer work with the Wieboldt Foundation, the Executive Services Corporation, Planned Parenthood, the Juvenile Protective Association, and the Winnetka Caucus; he has also served as an election judge since 1990; and

WHEREAS, Following the passing of his first wife, John Straub dated Shirley Gately, whom he married on July 2, 2008; the couple holds the record as the oldest couple to be married in the history of Christ Church; and

WHEREAS, John Straub is an outstanding father to his 2 daughters and a loving grandfather to Katherine, Jacqueline, John, Rebecca, and James; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate and honor John William Straub on the occasion of his 90th birthday and wish him all the best in his future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to John Straub as an expression of our congratulations.