HR0349 LRB096 12610 KXB 25998 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Anthony
4 A. Antoniou of Oak Brook, who passed away on April 14, 2009;
5 and
 
6     WHEREAS, Mr. Antoniou was chairman and chief executive
7 officer of Anvan Companies and Abbey Group and owned and
8 operated six Holiday Inns; he co-developed the Drury Lane in
9 Oak Brook; formerly owned the Knickerbocker Hotel and Barclay
10 Hotel in downtown Chicago; and developed The Abbey, Interlaken,
11 and the Inns of Geneva National Resorts in Wisconsin; and
 
12     WHEREAS, A civil engineer by trade, Mr. Antoniou went into
13 the construction business when he started Anvan Companies in
14 1954 and built homes, and commercial and municipal buildings;
15 in 1973, Mr. Antoniou bought The Abbey and doubled the size;
16 that same year, he built the Interlaken Lodge, which is now the
17 Lodge at Geneva Ridge; he also developed the Geneva Lakes
18 Kennel Club and the Geneva National Golf Course with three golf
19 courses designed by Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, and Lee
20 Trevino; and
 
21     WHEREAS, In addition to the area hotels Mr. Antoniou built
22 and owned, he also developed 2 million square feet of office

 

 

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1 space in the western suburbs; he was born and raised in Hyde
2 Park, graduated from Hyde Park High School, and enlisted in the
3 United States Navy in World War II; after his discharge in
4 1945, he worked part time as a draftsman and also attended Kent
5 Law School before he transferred to the University of Illinois
6 at Chicago, where he studied civil engineering; he finished his
7 last year of schooling at the Urbana-Champaign campus, where he
8 met his future wife, Irene Theodore; and
 
9     WHEREAS, He graduated in 1950 and went to work for the City
10 of Chicago as a civil engineer and helped design the overpasses
11 and entrances to O'Hare International Airport; a
12 self-professed workaholic, Mr. Antoniou would often work
13 16-hour days sometimes seven days a week; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Mr. Antoniou served on the board of trustees of
15 Lewis University in Romeoville and Anatolia College, a
16 secondary school in Greece, and was on the board of directors
17 of the Lyric Opera of Chicago for more than 25 years; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Mr. Antoniou is survived by his wife, Irene; his
19 sons, Vance and Andreas; his sisters, Georgia Stamat, Ann
20 Farmans, and Celestine Maroulakis; and his seven
21 grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
22     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE

 

 

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1 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
2 mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of
3 Anthony Antoniou; and be it further
 
4     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
5 presented to the family of Anthony Antoniou as a symbol of our
6 sincere sympathy.