HR0552 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0552 LRB096 13511 GRL 28254 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives have learned with great sorrow of the death of Morris Tellerman at the age of 89; and

WHEREAS, Morris was born in Novemyasto, Poland, near Random; and

WHEREAS, Morris hated fighting, but as a boy fought to defend the Jewish people from a Polish pogrom in Przytyk; and

WHEREAS, Morris escaped the Holocaust by fleeing to Russia, where he volunteered in the Russian Army to fight the Nazis; and

WHEREAS, Fighting in the siege of Leningrad, Morris was one of only 50 who survived from a battalion of 11,000; and

WHEREAS, Later in the war, Morris and his fellow soldiers liberated the Majdanek concentration camp; and

WHEREAS, After the war Morris went to Modena, Italy, where he assisted the Jewish Brigade smuggle Holocaust survivors into what later would become the State of Israel; and

WHEREAS, After the war Morris reunited with his beloved wife, Carol Tellerman, who also miraculously survived the Holocaust; and

WHEREAS, The young couple immigrated to the United States in 1947, first settling in Brooklyn, New York, and then in Flemington, New Jersey, where Morris worked hard and realized the American dream, raising a beautiful family of three girls; and

WHEREAS, Although a very handsome man, Morris' inner qualities meant far more to him than his outward beauty; and

WHEREAS, Morris' daughters believe that he was a Lamedvavnik, one of the 36 humble righteous ones mentioned in Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, who are hidden and unknown even to themselves, too humble to think they are special; and for whose sake, because they respond to the suffering of the world with compassion, God preserves the world; and

WHEREAS, Morris and Carol eventually retired to the sunshine of Hallandale Beach, Florida, where his conviviality continued to bring joy and happiness to all those who had the privilege of knowing him until he uttered his last words: "I love you", surrounded by his family; and

WHEREAS, Morris Tellerman's passing will be deeply felt by many, especially his wife, Carol; his three very successful daughters, Dr. Judith Tellerman, a Chicago psychologist, who has testified before a Committee of the House, Deborah Berkowitz, a Florida intellectual property attorney, and Dr. Barbara Tellerman, a Missouri radiologist; his four grandchildren; and his great-grandchild; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we join the family and friends of Morris Tellerman in mourning the loss of this freedom fighter from the "Greatest Generation"; and be it further

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