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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to express
3 their sincere condolences to the family and friends of Herman
4 Spertus, who passed away on April 5, 2006, at the age of 105;
5 and
 
6     WHEREAS, Born in a time of czarist pogroms, Herman Spertus
7 was lucky to escape with his life when, with his brother, he
8 walked, hung onto trains, and hid in hay wagons while Soviet
9 soldiers poked into the straw mounds with bayonets; the goal
10 was to reach America and it was a journey he never forgot; and
 
11     WHEREAS, He was the eldest of five children of Meriam and
12 Harry Spertus and grew up in a village near Kiev in Ukraine;
13 after the family made their way to Chicago, Mr. Spertus and his
14 brother found jobs as assembly line workers, studying English
15 at night; and
 
16     WHEREAS, With his brother, Maurice, Mr. Spertus founded
17 what became Intercraft Industries, the world's largest
18 manufacturer of inexpensive picture frames; in 1933, betting on
19 the popularity of Brownie cameras, they launched their company;
20 and
 
21     WHEREAS, An artist as well as a businessman, Mr. Spertus
22 would finish off a day of sales calls in New York in the 1950s
23 by hanging out in Greenwich Village at a tavern favored by many
24 of the Village's emerging abstract expressionists; other
25 regulars were Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock, and Willem de
26 Kooning; and they would talk, argue, and, in summers, all go
27 off and paint together; and
 
28     WHEREAS, Mr. Spertus was known for his warmth and caring
29 for people; in 1980, he served as the Jewish United Fund's
30 chairman and helped to raise a record $36 million for the

 

 

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1 organization; and
 
2     WHEREAS, The 82-year old institute in Chicago that offers
3 master's and doctorate degrees in Jewish studies was renamed
4 the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies in 1970 in honor of the
5 contributions of Mr. Spertus and his brother; and
 
6     WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his first wife, Sara,
7 and his brother, Maurice; and
 
8     WHEREAS, The passing of Herman Spertus will be felt by all
9 who knew and loved him, especially his second wife, Hilda; his
10 sons, Philip and Robert; his daughter, Anita; his 13
11 grandchildren; and his 14 great-grandchildren; therefore, be
12 it
 
13     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL
14 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
15 all who knew and loved him, the death of Herman Spertus; and be
16 it further
 
17     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18 presented to the family of Herman Spertus with our sincere
19 condolences.