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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Dr. Sidney J. Blair of West Chester,
4Pennsylvania, and formerly a 57-year resident of Oak Park, on
5November 24, 2018 at the age of 94; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Dr. Blair was born on December 15, 1923 in Chicago
7to Kate and Harry Blair; he attended Sullivan High School and
8Washington University in St. Louis; in 1948, he received his
9medical degree in an accelerated program from the Stritch
10School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Dr. Blair was an enlisted member of the United
12States Army during World War II and was an officer in the
13United States Navy during the Korean War, serving as the Chief
14Medical Officer aboard the USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Destroyer
15Escort; he met Joseph Kennedy, his wife, Rose, and their son,
16John F. Kennedy, during his time stationed in Newport Beach,
17R.I.; he left active duty in 1954 and was honorably discharged
18from the Naval Reserve in 1961; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Dr. Blair served his internship at Cook County
20Hospital in Chicago and his residency at Hines VA Hospital and
21the Shriners Hospital in Chicago; he worked at what is now
22Community First Medical Center on the Northwest Side as a

 

 

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1general orthopaedic surgeon in the emergency room and, later,
2held a similar job at Michael Reese Hospital; he did
3post-graduate study in hand surgery at the University of Iowa
4Carver College of Medicine; he returned to Cook County Hospital
5where he pioneered groundbreaking microsurgery, overseeing the
6reattachment of four fingers to a patient's hand, the
7first-ever four-finger reattachment; and
 
8    WHEREAS, In 1986, Dr. Blair was appointed chairman of
9Loyola's Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation
10and was the Dr. William M. Scholl Professorial Chair, holding
11both appointments until 1991; he continued to serve as
12Professor for Orthopaedic Surgery and Chief of Hand Section,
13where he was recognized nationally as an expert in trauma,
14arthritis, peripheral nerve problems, congenital deformities
15of the hand and prevention of industrial hand injuries; he
16retired in 1994 and was appointed emeritus professor, based on
17a distinguished lifetime career of healing, teaching,
18mentoring, and guiding; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Dr. Blair was a fellow of the American College of
20Surgeons, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American
21Society for Surgery of the Hand, and numerous other
22professional organizations; the Sidney J. Blair M. D. Lecture
23in Hand Surgery was established by donations from numerous
24Loyola faculty, alumni, staff, and friends in his honor in

 

 

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11995; he also consulted with the National Safety Council to
2reduce hand injuries from industrial machinery and with OSHA to
3develop ergonomic standards for repetitive motion in the
4workplace; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Loyola orthopaedic surgery professor Terry Light,
6who succeeded Dr. Blair as department head, noted "When he
7walked into an exam room, he gave that patient full attention
8for however long as was needed. And other physicians would
9refer the most challenging of cases to Sid, and he just took
10care of people"; he was considered a skilled surgeon, an
11outstanding mentor who was filled with curiosity; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Dr. Blair and his wife, LaMoyne, traveled
13extensively throughout the world, where he consulted at medical
14facilities in countries such as Japan and Sweden; he never
15stopped educating himself, taking courses, traveling and
16reading; he had a special interest in environmental and medical
17issues in the Middle East; at the age of 86, he published a
18book, "The Doctors Beck of Chicago: Men of Integrity", a
19biography of three doctors and a dentist, all brothers, who
20made significant contributions to modern medicine in the late
211800s and early 1900s; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Dr. Blair was a long-time member of West Suburban
23Temple Har Zion in River Forest, the Oak Park-River Forest

 

 

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1Rotary, the Off the Street Gang of Oak Park and River Forest,
2and the Society for Protection of Nature in Israel, where he
3attempted, after the first Persian Gulf War in 1991, to form
4links with medical groups tied to the Middle East; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Dr. Blair was preceded in death by his wife of 65
6years, LaMoyne, and by his brother, Marshall (Shirley) Blair;
7and
 
8    WHEREAS, Dr. Blair is survived by his sons, Brian (Cathy)
9Blair and David (Marcia) Blair; his grandchildren, Shawn
10(Kristen), Brandon, Eryn, and Hannah Blair; and his
11great-grandchildren, Liam and Addison Blair; therefore, be it
 
12    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
13ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
14Dr. Sidney J. Blair and extend our sincere condolences to his
15family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
16further
 
17    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18presented to the family of Dr. Blair as an expression of our
19deepest sympathy.