SR0461 LRB095 15019 KXB 40972 r

1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3 learn of the passing of Thomas Montalbano Sr., who passed away
4 on December 3, 2007; and
 
5     WHEREAS, The solid wood French and Baroque style pieces
6 that Thomas Montalbano Sr. designed and made in his factory,
7 Montalbano Majestic Furniture Company in Bellwood, were bought
8 by heads of state and hundreds of individuals who appreciated
9 the craftsmanship; and
 
10     WHEREAS, At age 94, Mr. Montalbano stopped working the
11 machines at the factory and officially retired; Mr. Montalbano
12 was one of 10 children; the family moved from Joliet to Chicago
13 and settled on Austin Avenue near Grand Avenue; Mr. Montalbano
14 dropped out of school after grammar school and at age 13 became
15 a carving apprentice; the business started in the family's
16 garage and remained there for the next five years before it
17 moved to a little factory on Chicago Avenue, then a larger
18 facility on Peoria Street; and
 
19     WHEREAS, Later, Mr. Montalbano opened a factory in Humboldt
20 Park before World War II and remained there for almost 50 years
21 before moving in the 1980s to Bellwood; at one point in the
22 1970s and 1980s, the company's pieces were handled by 600

 

 

SR0461 - 2 - LRB095 15019 KXB 40972 r

1 stores nationwide; the company employed 200 people, many who
2 worked for the company for decades; he was a devout Catholic
3 who built a full-size chapel in the middle of the factory where
4 mass is said for his employees about 50 times a year; he also
5 has made desks for schools, pews for churches and performed
6 countless other small deeds; and
 
7     WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his sons, Thomas Jr.,
8 and Robert; and
 
9     WHEREAS, In addition to his wife, M. Patricia, whom he
10 married in 1933, and his son Richard, other survivors include a
11 daughter, Patricia Hugar; 13 grandchildren; and 15
12 great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
13     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL
14 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
15 his family and friends, the passing of Thomas Montalbano Sr.;
16 and be it further
 
17     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18 presented to the family of Thomas Montalbano Sr. as a symbol of
19 our sympathy.