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| | SR0793 | | LRB100 13498 MST 28239 r |
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1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to |
3 | | learn of the death of Edward H. Schmitt of Aurora, who passed |
4 | | away on July 7, 2017; and
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5 | | WHEREAS, Edward Schmitt was born in Chicago to Henry P. and |
6 | | Anne Kemp Schmitt on August 26, 1925; he graduated from Hyde |
7 | | Park High School in 1943; and |
8 | | WHEREAS, Edward Schmitt enlisted in the United States Army |
9 | | on his 18th birthday; he was part of the Fifth Division and saw |
10 | | combat in World War II from the landing on Omaha beach until |
11 | | the end of the war; his unit fought in Northern France at |
12 | | Normandy and in the Battle of Metz; he also fought in the |
13 | | Battle of the Bulge; his division was the first of the Allied |
14 | | troops to cross the Rhine River on March 7, 1945, and in May of |
15 | | 1945, they entered Czechoslovakia and liberated the Mauthausen |
16 | | Gusen concentration camp; he was awarded the Combat Infantry |
17 | | Badge, two Bronze Star Medals, two Purple Heart Medals, and the |
18 | | Medal of Metz; and |
19 | | WHEREAS, After returning from the war, Ed Schmitt moved to |
20 | | Aurora and managed a farm in Sugar Grove for five years; he |
21 | | graduated from DePaul University in 1952 and married Marie |
22 | | Clare Collins on August 23, 1952; in 1964, he started his |
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| | SR0793 | - 2 - | LRB100 13498 MST 28239 r |
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1 | | career with the McDonald's Corporation as an executive manager |
2 | | trainee; in 1968, he became vice president of the Chicago |
3 | | region; that same year, he awarded the first African American |
4 | | franchise to Herman Petty in Chicago; and
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5 | | WHEREAS, Edward Schmitt moved the regional office from |
6 | | Chicago to Oak Brook and the headquarters would follow a few |
7 | | years later; in 1977, he became president of the McDonald's |
8 | | Corporation; he is credited with the development and national |
9 | | launch of McDonald's breakfast menu; he also expanded |
10 | | drive-thru service from one restaurant in Texas to across the |
11 | | nation; he awarded the first Hispanic franchise in Nogales, |
12 | | Arizona and promoted Sandy Brooks, the first woman vice |
13 | | president outside of Ray Kroc's secretary; he helped to build |
14 | | the first Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia and make it |
15 | | McDonald's national charity; in 1982, he was elected to the |
16 | | position of vice chairman; in that role, he traveled organizing |
17 | | the structure for the company's expansion around the globe; in |
18 | | April of 1986, he resigned to become a franchisee in Aurora |
19 | | with his sons Ed Jr. and Richard; he remained involved into his |
20 | | 80s, working behind the counter waiting on customers; and
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21 | | WHEREAS, Edward Schmitt served on the boards of the Old |
22 | | Second National Bank of Aurora, the Aurora Civic Authority, the |
23 | | Paramount Arts Center, the Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital, |
24 | | the Provena Medical Center (now Presence), and was chair of the |
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| | SR0793 | - 3 - | LRB100 13498 MST 28239 r |
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1 | | board of trustees of Benedictine University in Lisle; he was |
2 | | instrumental in the relocation and building of Aurora Central |
3 | | Catholic High School; he was a member of Holy Angels Parish for |
4 | | 71 years; and
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5 | | WHEREAS, Edward Schmitt was preceded in death by his |
6 | | parents and his brother, Robert; and
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7 | | WHEREAS, Edward Schmitt is survived by his wife of 64 |
8 | | years, Marie Clare; his children, Ed Jr. (Mary) and Richard |
9 | | (Corinne); his grandchildren, Edward III, Sarah Schmitt Fruy |
10 | | (Jay), and Evan and Alec Schmitt; his great-grandson, Hunter |
11 | | Fruy; and many nieces and nephews; therefore, be it
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12 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL |
13 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of |
14 | | Edward H. Schmitt, and extend our sincere condolences to his |
15 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it |
16 | | further
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17 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
18 | | presented to the family of Edward Schmitt as an expression of |
19 | | our deepest sympathy.
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