Full Text of SR0820 094th General Assembly
SR0820 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois | 3 |
| learned with regret of the death of Gerald S. Gidwitz of | 4 |
| Chicago on Tuesday, July 11, 2006, just six days before his | 5 |
| 100th birthday; and
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| WHEREAS, He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of a | 7 |
| cotton farmer and general store owner; he moved with his family | 8 |
| to Chicago when he was 12 years old; he married Jane Blumenthal | 9 |
| in 1944; she preceded him in death in 2001; and
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| WHEREAS, He graduated from the University of Chicago, and | 11 |
| in 1927, he went to work for National Minerals Co., which came | 12 |
| to be Helene Curtis; the Gidwitz family and others took the | 13 |
| firm that was essentially bankrupt and made it into a | 14 |
| prosperous company from which the Suave shampoo brand came; he | 15 |
| was chairman of Helene Curtis when it was sold to Unilever; and
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| WHEREAS, Outside of business, he was committed to | 17 |
| educational causes and helped to fund literacy programs through | 18 |
| Roosevelt University and later, National-Louis University; he | 19 |
| was devoted to stopping the spread of communism, was known as a | 20 |
| "Cold Warrior", and funded literacy programs that he hoped | 21 |
| would help people to get off of welfare; he served on the board | 22 |
| of Roosevelt University and worked with the National Planning | 23 |
| Association; and
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| WHEREAS, He supported cultural institutions, including the | 25 |
| Auditorium Theatre and Steppenwolf Theatre; he grew orchids at | 26 |
| his greenhouse at his Highland Park home until he moved to the | 27 |
| city in the 1970s and was an avid tennis player until his early | 28 |
| 90s; and
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| WHEREAS, The passing of Gerald S. Gidwitz has been deeply | 30 |
| felt by many, especially his sons, Ronald, James, Peter, and |
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| Thomas; his daughter, Nancy; and his nine grandchildren; | 2 |
| therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL | 4 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 5 |
| Gerald S. Gidwitz, and we extend our sincere condolences to his | 6 |
| family, his friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 7 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 |
| presented to his family as an expression of our deepest | 10 |
| sympathy.
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