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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Dr. Robert Reschke, who passed away on
4January 22, 2016 at the age of 92; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Dr. Robert Reschke was born in Berwyn; his family
6moved to Geneseo during the Depression; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Dr. Robert Reschke served his country for 3 years
8in the United States Army during World War II; initially
9assigned to the Air Corps, he was selected for the Army
10Specialized Training Program, which pointed him toward a
11medical career; after completing pre-med at Harvard
12University, he attended Boston University School of Medicine,
13graduating in 1949; he served his medical residency at Wesley
14Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where he met his wife, Wilma, a
15nurse; returning to the USAF during the Korean War as a flight
16surgeon, he was awarded the Bronze Star; after returning from
17Korea, he served 5 more years in the United States Air Force
18Reserve; and
 
19    WHEREAS, In 1954, Dr. Robert Reschke came to Naperville to
20practice family medicine with Dr. Glenn Wolf; along with Judge
21Win Knoch and Judge Mel Abrahamson, they were instrumental in
22convincing the Edward Tuberculosis Sanatorium Board that a

 

 

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1better use of the facility would be a conversion into an acute
2care community hospital; many hours were spent establishing the
3governance of the medical staff and Edward Hospital opened in
41955; in 1962, Dr. Reschke became President of the Edward
5Hospital medical staff; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Dr. Robert Reschke delivered more than 1,000
7babies in the Naperville community; in the 1970s, he served in
8a preceptor program with Chicago Medical School, in which
9senior students would come and "shadow" him for 3 weeks at a
10time; in 1988, he was honored by the Illinois Academy of Family
11Physicians as one of the top 5 candidates for the Family
12Physician of the Year award; and
 
13    WHEREAS, After retirement, Dr. Robert Reschke joined
14"Hurrah" in District 203 and tutored junior high students for
1510 years; he also kept busy by taking classes in history and
16humanities at the College of DuPage, acquiring over 100 credit
17hours over a period of 15 years; in recent years, he attended
18several classes at Benedictine University's Center for
19Lifelong Learning; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Dr. Robert Reschke was a founder of the Community
21Fund and served as Chair of the Audit Committee; during those
22years, he coached Little League teams and was President of the
23Pony League; during his 40 years in family practice, he

 

 

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1frequently served as a volunteer physician for Central High
2home football games and served as the physician of North
3Central College for 25 years; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Upon his retirement, Dr. Robert Reschke received a
5proclamation from the Mayor and City Council of Naperville
6designating March 31, 1994 as "Dr. Robert L. Reschke Day" in
7Naperville; he also received a proclamation by the Illinois
8House of Representatives for outstanding service to the
9community of Naperville, offered by Representative Mary Lou
10Cowlishaw; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Dr. Robert Reschke is preceded in death by his
12parents, Richard and Genevieve Reschke; his sisters, Ruth Tarpy
13and Fran Riffel; and his brother, Richard Reschke; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Dr. Robert Reschke and his wife of 65 years,
15Wilma, have 4 children, Susan (William) Gorski, Wayne (Jill)
16Reschke, Dean (Lynell) Reschke, and Keith (Sally) Reschke; 12
17grandchildren, Jennie, Jeff, Jason, Julie, Paul, Kevin,
18Melanie, Danielle, Gretchen, Kyle, Kent, and Kristen; and 5
19great-grandchildren, Noah, Sophia, Aivry, Logan, and Quentin;
20therefore, be it
 
21    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
22ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with his

 

 

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1family and friends, mourn the passing of Dr. Robert Reschke;
2and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
4presented to the family of Dr. Robert Reschke as an expression
5of our sympathy.