Full Text of SR0883 94th General Assembly
SR0883 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to extend | 3 |
| their sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Gerald S. | 4 |
| Gidwitz of Chicago, who passed away on Tuesday, July 11, 2006, | 5 |
| just six days before his 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.; his family | 12 |
| gained control of the firm and renamed it Helene Curtis | 13 |
| Industries; he was chairman of Helene Curtis from 1952 until | 14 |
| the family sold the company in 1996; and
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| WHEREAS, Besides cosmetics, Gerald Gidwitz found or | 16 |
| acquired companies involved in real estate, building | 17 |
| materials, farm equipment, oil wells, and uranium, zinc, and | 18 |
| copper mines; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, Gerald Gidwitz funded literacy programs that he | 20 |
| hoped would help people earn their GEDs; he served on the board | 21 |
| of Roosevelt University and worked with the National Planning | 22 |
| Association, a group working to get economic groups to work | 23 |
| together to solve national problems, as well as creating | 24 |
| programs to improve education and promote literacy; and
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| WHEREAS, He was a staunch conservative and a foe of | 26 |
| communism; in 1962, he launched a monthly magazine that | 27 |
| digested information on military, political, and technological | 28 |
| aspects of the Cold War; he also owned the Armed Forces Journal | 29 |
| for a time; and |
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| WHEREAS, He supported cultural institutions, including the | 2 |
| Auditorium Theatre and Steppenwolf Theatre; he grew orchids at | 3 |
| his greenhouse at his Highland Park home until he moved to the | 4 |
| city in the 1970s and was an avid tennis player until his early | 5 |
| 90s; and
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| WHEREAS, The passing of Gerald S. Gidwitz has been deeply | 7 |
| felt by many, especially his sons, Ronald, James, Peter, and | 8 |
| Thomas; his daughter, Nancy; and his nine grandchildren; | 9 |
| therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL | 11 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 12 |
| Gerald S. Gidwitz, and we extend our sincere condolences to his | 13 |
| family and his friends; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 15 |
| presented to the family of Gerald Gidwitz.
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