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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Dr. Richard Marshall Cronin of Elmhurst,
4who passed away on February 27, 2016; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Dr. Richard Cronin was born in Oak Park; he
6married Claire Cusack in 1952; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Dr. Richard Cronin graduated from Fenwick High
8School and then attended Notre Dame University, where he was a
9walk-on starter on the university's 1945 football team, playing
10both offense and defense; after graduating from Notre Dame in
111946, he earned his medical degree in 1950 from Loyola
12University; he then completed his medical residency at the
13University of Illinois Research and Education Hospital in
14Chicago; and
 
15    WHEREAS, In 1954, Dr. Richard Cronin enlisted in the United
16States Air Force and worked for two years as an orthopedic
17surgery resident at Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Dr. Richard Cronin began a medical practice in the
19near west suburbs, opening an office in Oak Park and seeing
20patients at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, St. Anne's Hospital,
21and Loretto Hospital; in 1960, he and his family moved from

 

 

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1River Forest to Elmhurst; in the early 1960s, he brought
2together a group of about 10 doctors who purchased land at the
3corner of Palmer Drive and Kenilworth Avenue in Elmhurst and
4constructed a medical office building, which still stands
5today; in 1986, he bought out his other partners and took full
6ownership of the building; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Dr. Richard Cronin was proud of his ties to Notre
8Dame, and had become a go-to specialist for athletes with
9injuries by the mid-1960s; during a spring practice in 1964,
10Notre Dame quarterback and eventual Heisman Trophy winner John
11Huarte separated his shoulder; doctors at a South Bend, Indiana
12hospital told Huarte that surgery was necessary; at that point,
13legendary Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian stepped in and
14encouraged Huarte to visit Dr. Cronin to see if surgery was
15really necessary; Huarte and Notre Dame backfield coach Tom
16Pagna, drove to the Chicago area to be examined by Dr. Cronin,
17who recommended rest instead of surgery; Huarte, who went on to
18play in the NFL for teams including the Chicago Bears, said
19that Dr. Cronin's recommendation "basically just saved my
20career"; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Dr. Richard Cronin was a clinical professor of
22medicine at Loyola University and the vice chairman and program
23director of the Medical School's department of orthopedics; he
24also enjoyed working along the sidelines of football games at

 

 

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1York and Immaculate Conception High Schools in Elmhurst, as
2well as at his alma mater, Fenwick High School, offering help
3to athletes suffering sprains, fractures, and other injuries;
4and
 
5    WHEREAS, After retiring from his medical practice in the
61990s, Dr. Richard Cronin remained active in the lives of his
7nine children and his many grandchildren; he also took a keen
8interest in politics, assisting his son during political
9campaigns for the Illinois Senate and for the DuPage County
10Board, and continued to manage his medical office building; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Dr. Richard Cronin is survived by his wife,
12Claire; his sons, Dan, Rich, Brian, Thomas, and John Cronin;
13his daughters, Cathleen, Cynthia Cronin Cahill, Rosanne Cronin
14Pompe van Meerdervoort, and Sheila Cronin Bodee; and his 38
15grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
16    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
17ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with his
18family and friends, mourn the passing of Dr. Richard Marshall
19Cronin; and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
21presented to the family of Dr. Richard Cronin as an expression
22of our sympathy.