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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     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
 
6     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
 
10     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
 
15     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
 
25     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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1     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
 
6     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
 
10     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
 
14     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
15 presented to the family of Gerald Gidwitz.