SR1475 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1475 LRB099 20015 GRL 44419 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Dr. Robert Reschke, who passed away on January 22, 2016 at the age of 92; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Robert Reschke was born in Berwyn; his family moved to Geneseo during the Depression; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Robert Reschke served his country for 3 years in the United States Army during World War II; initially assigned to the Air Corps, he was selected for the Army Specialized Training Program, which pointed him toward a medical career; after completing pre-med at Harvard University, he attended Boston University School of Medicine, graduating in 1949; he served his medical residency at Wesley Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where he met his wife, Wilma, a nurse; returning to the USAF during the Korean War as a flight surgeon, he was awarded the Bronze Star; after returning from Korea, he served 5 more years in the United States Air Force Reserve; and

WHEREAS, In 1954, Dr. Robert Reschke came to Naperville to practice family medicine with Dr. Glenn Wolf; along with Judge Win Knoch and Judge Mel Abrahamson, they were instrumental in convincing the Edward Tuberculosis Sanatorium Board that a better use of the facility would be a conversion into an acute care community hospital; many hours were spent establishing the governance of the medical staff and Edward Hospital opened in 1955; in 1962, Dr. Reschke became President of the Edward Hospital medical staff; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Robert Reschke delivered more than 1,000 babies in the Naperville community; in the 1970s, he served in a preceptor program with Chicago Medical School, in which senior students would come and "shadow" him for 3 weeks at a time; in 1988, he was honored by the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians as one of the top 5 candidates for the Family Physician of the Year award; and

WHEREAS, After retirement, Dr. Robert Reschke joined "Hurrah" in District 203 and tutored junior high students for 10 years; he also kept busy by taking classes in history and humanities at the College of DuPage, acquiring over 100 credit hours over a period of 15 years; in recent years, he attended several classes at Benedictine University's Center for Lifelong Learning; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Robert Reschke was a founder of the Community Fund and served as Chair of the Audit Committee; during those years, he coached Little League teams and was President of the Pony League; during his 40 years in family practice, he frequently served as a volunteer physician for Central High home football games and served as the physician of North Central College for 25 years; and

WHEREAS, Upon his retirement, Dr. Robert Reschke received a proclamation from the Mayor and City Council of Naperville designating March 31, 1994 as "Dr. Robert L. Reschke Day" in Naperville; he also received a proclamation by the Illinois House of Representatives for outstanding service to the community of Naperville, offered by Representative Mary Lou Cowlishaw; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Robert Reschke is preceded in death by his parents, Richard and Genevieve Reschke; his sisters, Ruth Tarpy and Fran Riffel; and his brother, Richard Reschke; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Robert Reschke and his wife of 65 years, Wilma, have 4 children, Susan (William) Gorski, Wayne (Jill) Reschke, Dean (Lynell) Reschke, and Keith (Sally) Reschke; 12 grandchildren, Jennie, Jeff, Jason, Julie, Paul, Kevin, Melanie, Danielle, Gretchen, Kyle, Kent, and Kristen; and 5 great-grandchildren, Noah, Sophia, Aivry, Logan, and Quentin; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with his family and friends, mourn the passing of Dr. Robert Reschke; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Dr. Robert Reschke as an expression of our sympathy.