SR0914 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0914 LRB095 22941 KXB 53389 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Howard J. Adelmann of Lockport, who passed away on October 22, 2008; and

WHEREAS, When he was an infant, his great-grandmother noticed a resemblance to silent screen comedian John Bunny, and the nickname "Bunny" remained for the rest of his life; a lifelong resident of Lockport, he served in the Army Air Corps in the Pacific during World War II; he founded the Lockport Oil Company in 1958 and sold the business in 1977; and he was one of the founders of the Bank of Lockport (now Harris Bank) and served as chairman of the board for many years; and

WHEREAS, When Lockport officials announced plans to tear down the decrepit Central School, Howard Adelmann became chairman of the committee to preserve the building, which now houses City Hall, the Lockport Township offices, and park district facility; he was also instrumental in restoring the Old Congregational Church as the Gladys Fox Museum; and

WHEREAS, A longtime trustee of the Lockport Township fire and park districts for many years, he was credited as a driving force behind the Prairie Bluff Golf Course and Dellwood West Park; Farrell Road Park was renamed in his honor upon his retirement from the park district in 1999; that same year, he purchased the Adelmann Block Building in downtown Lockport, which had been built by his grandfather 100 years earlier, and restored the structure for residential and commercial uses; and

WHEREAS, He was a charter member of the Lockport Veterans of Foreign Wars post and served as commander from 1984 to 1986; and

WHEREAS, He owned a Model-T Ford as a member of the Antique Automobile Association and began hooking rugs as a hobby later in life; he also donated an antique hack from his family's livery business to the Will County Historical Society; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Howard Adelmann; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Howard Adelmann as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.