Full Text of HR0924 101st General Assembly
HR0924 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of former | 4 | | Mayor John F. McNamara of Rockford, who passed away on | 5 | | September 30, 2020; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, John McNamara was born to John I. and Marian | 7 | | McNamara on August 27, 1939; he graduated from Notre Dame in | 8 | | 1961 and received his law degree from the University of | 9 | | Michigan in 1964; he served in the U.S. Army from 1964 until | 10 | | 1966 during which he did a tour in Saigon as a captain in Army | 11 | | intelligence and earned a Bronze Star; he married his wife | 12 | | Barbara in 1965; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, After his service, John McNamara and his wife | 14 | | moved to Rockford; there, he worked as a public defender before | 15 | | going into private practice, first as a partner in the firm of | 16 | | King & McNamara and later with O'Brien, Healy, Wade, Abate, | 17 | | McNamara, & Gorman; later in life, he worked at William Charles | 18 | | Investments and then served as the Vice President for | 19 | | Institutional Advancement at Rockford University, helping the | 20 | | institution through its own challenging financial times until | 21 | | retiring in 2016; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, In 1974, John McNamara was appointed to fill the |
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| 1 | | vacant 3rd Ward alderman seat by then Rockford Mayor Robert | 2 | | McGaw; he was then elected to the position in 1975 and served | 3 | | until 1979; he then served two terms as Mayor of Rockford from | 4 | | 1981 until 1989, leading the city past a severe depression with | 5 | | relentless optimism and aggressive leadership; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, John McNamara supported his son Tom as he sought | 7 | | elected office, first as he won election to the seat of 3rd | 8 | | Ward alderman and in his position as the current mayor of | 9 | | Rockford; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, John McNamara was preceded in death by his loving | 11 | | parents; his sisters, Maureen Faulkner and Tess Syron; and his | 12 | | parents-in-law, Verl and Katherine Runkle; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, John McNamara is survived by his beloved wife, | 14 | | Barbara; his children, John (Mary Maguire) McNamara, Kate | 15 | | (Terry) Bourbeau, Dan (Sarah Bursley) McNamara, Mary (Ben | 16 | | Bernsten) McNamara Bernsten, Nell (Cameron McLaughlin) | 17 | | McNamara, and Thomas (Sarah Reed) McNamara; and his 16 | 18 | | grandchildren; therefore, be it
| 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 20 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 21 | | we mourn the passing of former Mayor John F. McNamara and | 22 | | extend our sincerest condolences to his family, friends, and |
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| 1 | | all who knew and loved him; and be it further
| 2 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 3 | | presented to the family of John McNamara as an expression of | 4 | | our deepest sympathies.
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