SR1732 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1732 LRB099 21079 GRL 46249 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Frederic Kris Lehman of Champaign, who passed away on February 10, 2016; and

WHEREAS, Frederic Lehman was born on February 5, 1924 in New York City; his parents were David Henry Lehman and Olga Isabel Lehman; he married Sheila Geyer on September 10, 1956 in New York; and

WHEREAS, At the age of 3, Frederic Lehman went to live with the family of his father's cousin in Calcutta, India, where he remained until the age of 4; he later moved with his family to Lashio, Burma, where he apprenticed in the family gem trade at the age of 14; in 1940, he left Burma to visit his parents when he was caught up in World War II; he served mostly in the Merchant Navy and injured his back in a German attack on his convoy; and

WHEREAS, After the war, Frederic Lehman took his high school equivalency at DeWitt Clinton High School before entering New York University, where he studied mathematics and theoretical physics and minored in languages and social sciences and graduated with honors in 1949; he later entered Columbia University and studied anthropology and linguistics, earning his Ph.D. in 1959 after returning from his first major field trip to the Chin Hills of Burma with his wife and son; and

WHEREAS, Frederic Lehman took his first academic appointment at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, becoming an assistant professor in 1960-1961; he became a tenured associate professor in 1965 and a professor in 1968; he also conducted field research in Burma, Thailand, India, and China; he retired as an emeritus professor of anthropology, linguistics, and cognitive sciences in the spring of 2009; and

WHEREAS, After his retirement, Frederic Lehman continued to collaborate with colleagues around the world and remained on the cutting edge of his interests, giving papers at conferences, writing, and publishing until two months before his passing; and

WHEREAS, Frederic Lehman is survived by his wife, Sheila; his sons, Mark Alexander Lehman (Sandra Edwards) and Charles Frederic Albert Lehman; his grandchildren, Tamisha LaShawn McClendon, Brandon Alexander Lehman, and Cameron Alexander Lehman; his daughter-in-law, Barbara J. Lehman; and his favorite dog, Kai; 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 Frederic Kris Lehman; and be it further

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