Full Text of SR0413 97th General Assembly
SR0413 97TH 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
Ralph J. Coletta, who passed away on | 4 | | October 19, 2011; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Ralph Coletta was born on December 13, 1921, in | 6 | | Chillicothe; his parents were Cesidio and Assunta Aromatario | 7 | | Coletta; he married Ethel Mary Meyers on November 19, 1949, at | 8 | | St. Bernard Catholic Church in Peoria; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Ralph Coletta was a graduate of Chillicothe Grade | 10 | | School and Peoria High School; he then earned his bachelor's | 11 | | degree from Bradley Polytechnic Institute, now Bradley | 12 | | University, and his doctorate in law from the University of | 13 | | Chicago Law School in 1949; he then passed his bar examination | 14 | | that same year; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Ralph Coletta served his country with pride and | 16 | | distinction as a member of the United States Army during World | 17 | | War II; after graduating from the United States Army Infantry | 18 | | School at Fort Benning, Georgia, he was commissioned as a | 19 | | lieutenant of infantry; he served in the South Pacific Theater | 20 | | of Operations until the surrender of Japanese forces, when he | 21 | | served with the United States Army of Occupation in Japan as a | 22 | | Japanese language interpreter with the general headquarters of |
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| 1 | | Gen. Douglas MacArthur; he also served at the Fifth Army | 2 | | headquarters at Fort Sheridan, and as a reserve officer from | 3 | | 1948 to 1949; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Ralph Coletta founded the family law firm in | 5 | | Peoria in 1950, being later joined in the practice of law by | 6 | | his sons, Joseph and Robert; he served as a lawyer for more | 7 | | than 55 years and was recognized as a senior counselor by the | 8 | | Illinois State Bar Association in 2000; he was admitted to | 9 | | practice before all Illinois courts and the Supreme Court of | 10 | | the United States; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Ralph Coletta served as assistant state's | 12 | | attorney of Peoria County from 1952 to 1956; he later served as | 13 | | vice chairman of the Business and Commercial Law Committee of | 14 | | the American Bar Association; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Ralph Coletta was a member of the American, State | 16 | | of Illinois, Chicago, and Peoria County Bar Associations; he | 17 | | served as a hearing officer for the Illinois Pollution Control | 18 | | Board from 1970 to 1975; he was also a member of Land of | 19 | | Lincoln Packards and Packard Automobile Association, the | 20 | | Italian American Society, the American Legion Peoria Post No. 2 | 21 | | and the 40 et 8 of the Legion, the Knights of Columbus, Mount | 22 | | Hawley Country Club, the Union League Club of Chicago, the | 23 | | Creve Coeur Club of Peoria, the Bradley University B Club, the |
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| 1 | | Bradley Chiefs Club, and Lakeview Museum; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Ralph Coletta was active in the development of | 3 | | real estate in the Peoria area and served as president of 2 | 4 | | real estate development organizations, the White Star | 5 | | Corporation and as a general partner of The Ralet Limited | 6 | | Partnership and Mark Tidd Inc; he was a former director of the | 7 | | Illinois Valley Savings and Loan Association for many years and | 8 | | was a founding director and officer in Wheels O'Time Museum; he | 9 | | also served as a director of the Peoria Regional Museum | 10 | | Society; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Ralph Coletta was a former director of St. Jude | 12 | | Midwest Affiliate and an adviser to the Peoria Area Blind | 13 | | People's Center; he was a former Republican Precinct | 14 | | Committeeman for 10 years and was a Republican delegate to | 15 | | Illinois; he was a former member of the Peoria Junior Chamber | 16 | | of Commerce and the Peoria Chamber of Commerce; he was also a | 17 | | Mass Lector and served on the Parish Council at St. Philomena | 18 | | Catholic Church, where he was a member for many years; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Ralph Coletta was preceded in death by his | 20 | | parents; his daughter, Renee Joers; his brother, John; and his | 21 | | grandson, Adam Ahitow; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Ralph Coletta is survived by his wife; his |
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| 1 | | children, Jeanie Caskey (Barry Stortz), Michele (Dan) Smith, | 2 | | Robert (Valencia) Coletta, Marianne (Pete) Hoener, Suzanne | 3 | | (Vince) Kennedy, and Joseph (Debra); his 14 grandchildren; his | 4 | | 2 great-granddaughters; and his great-grandson; therefore, be | 5 | | it
| 6 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 7 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 8 | | his family and friends, the passing of Ralph J. Coletta; and be | 9 | | it further
| 10 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 11 | | presented to the family of Ralph Coletta as an expression of | 12 | | our sympathy.
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