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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois
3 learned with great sadness of the death of their former
4 colleague, Richard A. Walsh, of River Forest on Tuesday,
5 January 25, 2005; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Senator Walsh was born in Chicago; he graduated
7 from Fenwick High School in Oak Park in 1948 and received an
8 undergraduate business degree from Loyola University in 1952;
9 he received his law degree from Loyola in 1954 and went on to
10 form what is now the Chicago law firm of McCracken, Walsh, and
11 deLaVan; and
 
12     WHEREAS, He spent his life as a lawyer, a suburban Chicago
13 father of six, and a State legislator, roles that friends and
14 family say he embraced with equal dedication; he served in the
15 Illinois House until 1974, including a stint as chairman of the
16 Appropriations Committee; he was then elected to the Illinois
17 Senate in 1976 and served until 1982; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Along with his political and legal careers, Mr.
19 Walsh served in the United States Navy in the late 1950s; and
 
20     WHEREAS, Mr. Walsh was often the first one in and the last
21 to leave his Chicago law firm, yet he always put his family
22 first and was there for ball games and weekend getaways; in the
23 legislature, he was known for carefully reading the hundreds of
24 bills that came up each year, never content to have staffers
25 read them for him; and
 
26     WHEREAS, He was a passionate Republican and walked through
27 political circles with an easy manner; he had a winning
28 combination of strong principles and an equally strong sense of
29 humor; he often joked about his sizable golf handicap and the
30 equity it brought to the game; and
 

 

 

SR0101 - 2 - LRB094 08669 HSS 42735 r

1     WHEREAS, Mr. Walsh came from a politically involved family;
2 his uncle, Arthur Bidwill, was a longtime State senator and
3 Senate president; Mr. Walsh's brother, William Walsh, began
4 serving in the Illinois House in 1960, and when Mr. Walsh first
5 was elected in 1962, they became the only brothers to serve in
6 the legislature at the same time; his nephew, former Senator
7 Tom Walsh, continued the family legacy as a member of the State
8 Senate, where he served from 1995 to 2002; and
 
9     WHEREAS, In the summers, Mr. Walsh would take his family to
10 Lake Geneva in Wisconsin, and spend afternoons on the pier with
11 his kids; and
 
12     WHEREAS, The passing of Senator Richard A. Walsh has been
13 deeply felt by many, especially his wife, Patricia; his sons,
14 Richard Jr., Mark, Patrick, and Brian; his daughters, Katherine
15 and Anne; his two brothers, John and Robert; and his eight
16 grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
17     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL
18 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
19 former Senator Richard A. Walsh, and we extend our deepest
20 sympathy to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved
21 him; and be it further
 
22     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
23 presented to his family as an expression of our sincere
24 condolences.