Full Text of SR0461 95th General Assembly
SR0461 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 |
| learn of the passing of Thomas Montalbano Sr., who passed away | 4 |
| on December 3, 2007; and
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| WHEREAS, The solid wood French and Baroque style pieces | 6 |
| that Thomas Montalbano Sr. designed and made in his factory, | 7 |
| Montalbano Majestic Furniture Company in Bellwood, were bought | 8 |
| by heads of state and hundreds of individuals who appreciated | 9 |
| the craftsmanship; and
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| WHEREAS, At age 94, Mr. Montalbano stopped working the | 11 |
| machines at the factory and officially retired;
Mr. Montalbano | 12 |
| was one of 10 children; the family moved from Joliet to Chicago | 13 |
| and settled on Austin Avenue near Grand Avenue; Mr. Montalbano | 14 |
| dropped out of school after grammar school and at age 13 became | 15 |
| a carving apprentice; the business started in the family's | 16 |
| garage and remained there for the next five years before it | 17 |
| moved to a little factory on Chicago Avenue, then a larger | 18 |
| facility on Peoria Street; and
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| WHEREAS, Later, Mr. Montalbano opened a factory in Humboldt | 20 |
| Park before World War II and remained there for almost 50 years | 21 |
| before moving in the 1980s to Bellwood; at one point in the | 22 |
| 1970s and 1980s, the company's pieces were handled by 600 |
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| stores nationwide; the company employed 200 people, many who | 2 |
| worked for the company for decades; he was a devout Catholic | 3 |
| who built a full-size chapel in the middle of the factory where | 4 |
| mass is said for his employees about 50 times a year; he also | 5 |
| has made desks for schools, pews for churches and performed | 6 |
| countless other small deeds; and
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| WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his sons, Thomas Jr., | 8 |
| and Robert; and
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| WHEREAS, In addition to his wife, M. Patricia, whom he | 10 |
| married in 1933, and his son Richard, other survivors include a | 11 |
| daughter, Patricia Hugar; 13 grandchildren; and 15 | 12 |
| great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | 14 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 15 |
| his family and friends, the passing of Thomas Montalbano Sr.; | 16 |
| and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 18 |
| presented to the family of Thomas Montalbano Sr. as a symbol of | 19 |
| our sympathy.
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