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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Theodore Bagatelas of Moline, who passed
4away on August 22, 2016; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Theodore Bagatelas was born on September 17, 1927,
6in East Moline; his parents were William and Rebecca Gounis
7Bagatelas; he married Pauline Strenglis in 1957 in St. Paul,
8Minnesota; he married Karen Sandberg in 1991 in Kauai, Hawaii;
9and
 
10    WHEREAS, Theodore Bagatelas graduated from United Township
11High School and attended the former Moline Community College;
12and
 
13    WHEREAS, Theodore Bagatelas was a veteran of World War II
14and served in the United States Navy; during the Civil War in
15Greece in 1947, he served as a Greek interpreter for the United
16States Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean and the Greek general
17staff; he was a member of the EM American Legion Post 227 and
18participated in the World War II Veterans Honor Flight to
19Washington, D.C.; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Theodore Bagatelas, along with his brother George
21and his sister Dorothy, grew up working in the family grocery

 

 

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1store, where he gained the entrepreneurial spirit that guided
2him in other ventures over the years; he ran a snack bar out of
3the family's grocery store after his discharge from the United
4States Navy; in 1951, along with their brother-in-law, George
5Yokas, the trio opened their first Sportsland store in downtown
6East Moline; the company expanded into Moline and Davenport
7over the years and consisted of both the Athletic Center, which
8specialized in retail sporting goods and servicing school
9athletic departments in the Midwest, and the Family Fun Center,
10which sold boats, motorcycles, and pool tables; in 1972, he
11traveled to Hamamatsu, Japan as a guest of the Suzuki
12Motorcycle Company for his company's outstanding sales; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Theodore Bagatelas and his brother began their
14careers in real estate with the development and purchase of
15various apartment projects in the area; in 1970, they completed
16the construction of the 12-story luxury high rise Summit Ridge
17Condominiums on the bluff above downtown East Moline; in his
18later years, he was president of Imperial Home Builders, Ltd.;
19in 1981, he successfully opened his first Gulliver's Travel
20store in SouthPark Mall; today, there are Gulliver's agencies
21in Illinois, Iowa, and Tennessee; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Theodore Bagatelas served as president of St.
23George Greek Orthodox Church from 1969 to 1971, when Interstate
2474 construction in downtown Moline forced the church to move;

 

 

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1he led the development of the congregation's present house of
2worship in Rock Island and spearheaded the fundraising; he was
3a member of the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church and served on
4both parish councils; he was also one of the original
5organizers of the Greek Cultural Festival in downtown Moline;
6and
 
7    WHEREAS, Theodore Bagatelas enjoyed traveling, dancing,
8and socializing with his wife, jogging, watching the Illini,
9politics, and spending time with his cats, Cracker and Maggie;
10and
 
11    WHEREAS, Theodore Bagatelas was preceded in death by his
12parents; his brother; his sister; and his brother-in-law; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Theodore Bagatelas is survived by his wife, Karen;
14his sons, William Bagatelas, Todd (Cyndi) Bagatelas, and Paul
15(Christine) Bagatelas; his grandchildren, Olivia, Elena,
16Pauline, Nicolas, and Emilie; his stepchildren, Kelly Sandberg
17and Rick Sandberg; and his step-grandchildren, Todd, Austin,
18and Jonathon Wadkins; therefore, be it
 
19    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
20ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with his
21family and friends, mourn the passing of Theodore Bagatelas;
22and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2presented to the family of Theodore Bagatelas as an expression
3of our sympathy.