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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3 learn of the death of Roz Simon of Chicago, who passed away on
4 April 12, 2007; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Roz Simon was born in Philadelphia on August 8,
6 1915; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Roz Simon became Miss Philadelphia in 1932, then
8 went on to finish 5th in the Miss America contest; after
9 studying classical ballet and dancing with the Littlefield
10 Ballet Company, she became a member of Radio City Music Hall's
11 famed "Rockettes"; she left show business to teach dance after
12 marrying Henry Biel at the age of 22; on New Year's Day 1952
13 her husband passed away, leaving her alone to raise her three
14 children; she used her ingenuity and business acumen to form a
15 corporate gifts business that became a family affair, involving
16 both herself and her children in the business operations; and
 
17     WHEREAS, In 1954, Roz Simon was introduced to Seymour
18 Simon, an ambitious anti-trust attorney from Chicago who had
19 come to Cleveland to meet a client; they married that same year
20 and settled in Chicago; their marriage would last 52 years; in
21 1955, her new husband made his first run for alderman, and she
22 quickly proved herself a valuable political ally; as her

 

 

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1 husband climbed the political ladder, she became a leading
2 voice for charitable causes, including the Chicago Heart
3 Association and Jewish United Fund; she served as president of
4 the Mother's Aid of the University of Chicago's Lying-In
5 Hospital; and she became an accomplished painter who studied
6 under Ed Paschke; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Roz Simon was renowned for her incredible cooking
8 skills, and she was known as a "competitive cook", who would
9 conveniently forget a key ingredient while giving out recipes;
10 her cooking entertained many famous people, including Eleanor
11 Roosevelt, Abraham Ribicoff, James Michener, and Ted Sorenson;
12 and
 
13     WHEREAS, Roz Simon is survived by her sons, John and
14 Anthony; her daughter, Nancy; her 10 grandchildren; her 14
15 great-grandchildren; and her sister, Mickey Kalter; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Roz Simon will be remembered by all who knew and
17 loved her as a down-to-earth and compassionate woman who was a
18 genuine people person; therefore, be it
 
19     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL
20 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
21 her family and friends, the passing of Roz Simon; and be it
22 further
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2 presented to the family of Roz Simon as an expression of our
3 sympathy.