Full Text of HR0111 96th General Assembly
HR0111 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are pleased to honor Melvin J. Larson for his | 4 |
| 54 years of dedicated service as a board member and founder of | 5 |
| United Cerebral Palsy of Will County, now UPC of Illinois | 6 |
| Prairieland; and
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| WHEREAS, Melvin Larson was born on May 28, 1914 on a farm | 8 |
| in the rural Red River Valley of northwestern Minnesota; he | 9 |
| attended and graduated from a one-room school of 30 students | 10 |
| for all 8 grades; he left school at age 14 to work on the family | 11 |
| farm; he entered high school at the age of 21 and graduated in | 12 |
| 1938 at the age of 25; and
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| WHEREAS, Melvin Larson attended college at Concordia | 14 |
| College in Morehead, Minnesota, receiving his bachelor's | 15 |
| degree in chemistry in 1942; he then performed graduate studies | 16 |
| at the University of Minnesota, and then attended the | 17 |
| University of Chicago, where he received his master's degree in | 18 |
| higher education in 1952; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, Melvin Larson was employed as a research chemist | 20 |
| with the Lindsay Chemical Company from 1942 to 1945; and | 21 |
| WHEREAS, Melvin Larson has had a long and distinguished |
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| career in education; he began his career as an instructor in | 2 |
| chemistry at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, | 3 |
| serving from 1946 to 1948; he served as the chairperson of the | 4 |
| chemistry department at Waldorf Junior College in Forest City, | 5 |
| Iowa from 1948 to 1949; he was the assistant to the academic | 6 |
| dean at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota from 1949 to | 7 |
| 1951; he served as an instructor of chemistry at Joliet Junior | 8 |
| College from 1954 to 1956, chairman of the college's Department | 9 |
| of Chemistry from 1956 to 1965, and chairman of the college's | 10 |
| Department of Physical Sciences from 1965 until 1979, when he | 11 |
| became a professor emeritus at the college; and
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| WHEREAS, Melvin Larson is the proud founder and 54-year | 13 |
| member of the United Cerebral Palsy affiliate in Will County | 14 |
| and was responsible for the organization's initial inquiries of | 15 |
| local families of children with cerebral palsy and the | 16 |
| initiation of grassroots community efforts to provide | 17 |
| essential services for the children; starting out as a | 18 |
| classroom for six children in a Joliet grad school, the | 19 |
| organization now operates a school for 60 children between the | 20 |
| ages of 3 and 22 which provides comprehensive educational and | 21 |
| therapeutic programs for children with profound developmental | 22 |
| disabilities; Mr. Larson has served on the organization's Board | 23 |
| of Directors since 1955 and has served in all of the | 24 |
| organization's offices; and
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| WHEREAS, Melvin Larson is a member of numerous professional | 2 |
| and community organizations, including the American Chemical | 3 |
| Society, the American Association of University Professors, | 4 |
| the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Rotary Club, | 5 |
| the Lions Club, the Elks Club, and the Joliet Family Counseling | 6 |
| Agency; and
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| WHEREAS, Melvin Larson serves as a model of hard work, | 8 |
| integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of | 9 |
| Illinois; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 11 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 12 |
| honor Melvin J. Larson for his many years of dedicated service | 13 |
| with United Cerebral Palsy of Will County and wish him | 14 |
| continued success and happiness in his future endeavors; and be | 15 |
| it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 17 |
| presented to Melvin Larson as a symbol of our esteem and | 18 |
| respect.
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