Full Text of SR0241 101st General Assembly
SR0241 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of Dr. Sidney J. Blair of West Chester, | 4 | | Pennsylvania, and formerly a 57-year resident of Oak Park, on | 5 | | November 24, 2018 at the age of 94; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Blair was born on December 15, 1923 in Chicago | 7 | | to Kate and Harry Blair; he attended Sullivan High School and | 8 | | Washington University in St. Louis; in 1948, he received his | 9 | | medical degree in an accelerated program from the Stritch | 10 | | School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Blair was an enlisted member of the United | 12 | | States Army during World War II and was an officer in the | 13 | | United States Navy during the Korean War, serving as the Chief | 14 | | Medical Officer aboard the USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Destroyer | 15 | | Escort; he met Joseph Kennedy, his wife, Rose, and their son, | 16 | | John F. Kennedy, during his time stationed in Newport Beach, | 17 | | R.I.; he left active duty in 1954 and was honorably discharged | 18 | | from the Naval Reserve in 1961; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Blair served his internship at Cook County | 20 | | Hospital in Chicago and his residency at Hines VA Hospital and | 21 | | the Shriners Hospital in Chicago; he worked at what is now | 22 | | Community First Medical Center on the Northwest Side as a |
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| 1 | | general orthopaedic surgeon in the emergency room and, later, | 2 | | held a similar job at Michael Reese Hospital; he did | 3 | | post-graduate study in hand surgery at the University of Iowa | 4 | | Carver College of Medicine; he returned to Cook County Hospital | 5 | | where he pioneered groundbreaking microsurgery, overseeing the | 6 | | reattachment of four fingers to a patient's hand, the | 7 | | first-ever four-finger reattachment; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, In 1986, Dr. Blair was appointed chairman of | 9 | | Loyola's Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation | 10 | | and was the Dr. William M. Scholl Professorial Chair, holding | 11 | | both appointments until 1991; he continued to serve as | 12 | | Professor for Orthopaedic Surgery and Chief of Hand Section, | 13 | | where he was recognized nationally as an expert in trauma, | 14 | | arthritis, peripheral nerve problems, congenital deformities | 15 | | of the hand and prevention of industrial hand injuries; he | 16 | | retired in 1994 and was appointed emeritus professor, based on | 17 | | a distinguished lifetime career of healing, teaching, | 18 | | mentoring, and guiding; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Blair was a fellow of the American College of | 20 | | Surgeons, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American | 21 | | Society for Surgery of the Hand, and numerous other | 22 | | professional organizations; the Sidney J. Blair M. D. Lecture | 23 | | in Hand Surgery was established by donations from numerous | 24 | | Loyola faculty, alumni, staff, and friends in his honor in |
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| 1 | | 1995; he also consulted with the National Safety Council to | 2 | | reduce hand injuries from industrial machinery and with OSHA to | 3 | | develop ergonomic standards for repetitive motion in the | 4 | | workplace; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Loyola orthopaedic surgery professor Terry Light, | 6 | | who succeeded Dr. Blair as department head, noted "When he | 7 | | walked into an exam room, he gave that patient full attention | 8 | | for however long as was needed. And other physicians would | 9 | | refer the most challenging of cases to Sid, and he just took | 10 | | care of people"; he was considered a skilled surgeon, an | 11 | | outstanding mentor who was filled with curiosity; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Blair and his wife, LaMoyne, traveled | 13 | | extensively throughout the world, where he consulted at medical | 14 | | facilities in countries such as Japan and Sweden; he never | 15 | | stopped educating himself, taking courses, traveling and | 16 | | reading; he had a special interest in environmental and medical | 17 | | issues in the Middle East; at the age of 86, he published a | 18 | | book, "The Doctors Beck of Chicago: Men of Integrity", a | 19 | | biography of three doctors and a dentist, all brothers, who | 20 | | made significant contributions to modern medicine in the late | 21 | | 1800s and early 1900s; and | 22 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Blair was a long-time member of West Suburban | 23 | | Temple Har Zion in River Forest, the Oak Park-River Forest |
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| 1 | | Rotary, the Off the Street Gang of Oak Park and River Forest, | 2 | | and the Society for Protection of Nature in Israel, where he | 3 | | attempted, after the first Persian Gulf War in 1991, to form | 4 | | links with medical groups tied to the Middle East; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Blair was preceded in death by his wife of 65 | 6 | | years, LaMoyne, and by his brother, Marshall (Shirley) Blair; | 7 | | and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Blair is survived by his sons, Brian (Cathy) | 9 | | Blair and David (Marcia) Blair; his grandchildren, Shawn | 10 | | (Kristen), Brandon, Eryn, and Hannah Blair; and his | 11 | | great-grandchildren, Liam and Addison Blair; therefore, be it
| 12 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 13 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 14 | | Dr. Sidney J. Blair and extend our sincere condolences to his | 15 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 16 | | further
| 17 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 18 | | presented to the family of Dr. Blair as an expression of our | 19 | | deepest sympathy.
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