HR1363 LRB094 20858 HSS 59259 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the
3 State of Illinois learned with regret of the death of Reathel
4 M. Odum on June 6, 2006; and
 
5     WHEREAS, She was the daughter of Thomas Brittain Odum and
6 Myrtle Powell Odum; she graduated from Benton High School in
7 1926; and
 
8     WHEREAS, After high school, she worked for Marion Hart at
9 the Franklin County Title Company in Benton; she then worked
10 for the First National Bank of Benton during the Great
11 Depression until 1933; she also worked for the First National
12 Bank in East St. Louis and was an assistant to the president of
13 the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis; and
 
14     WHEREAS, She served as secretary for U.S. Senator Harry S.
15 Truman of Missouri in his Washington, D.C., office; she
16 continued to work for Mr. Truman while he was Vice President,
17 taking dictation and typing his speeches; one of her many
18 duties included showing various family members around
19 Washington when they came to visit; and
 
20     WHEREAS, She became very close with the Truman family and
21 would babysit for their daughter, Margaret Truman; she and
22 Margaret remained lifelong friends; and
 
23     WHEREAS, Miss Odum went on to serve as personal assistant
24 for Bess Truman and then Secretary to the First Lady; she lived
25 with the Trumans, first in the Blair House and then in the
26 White House; she worked for the Trumans from 1936 to 1953; and
 
27     WHEREAS, The passing of Reathel M. Odum has been deeply
28 felt by many, especially her nephew, Richard 0. Hart; her
29 niece, Susan McGannon; her great-nephews, Murphy C. Hart and

 

 

HR1363 - 2 - LRB094 20858 HSS 59259 r

1 Paul R. Hart; she was preceded in death by her brothers,
2 Orville Odum, Kenneth Odum, and Clarence Odum; and her sister,
3 Pauline Davis; therefore, be it
 
4     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
5 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
6 we mourn the passing of Reathel M. Odum, and we extend our
7 sincere condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew
8 and loved her; and be it further
 
9     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
10 presented to her family as an expression of our deepest
11 sympathy.