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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3 learn of the death of Michael B. Rafferty of Oak Brook, who
4 passed away on October 16, 2008; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Michael B. Rafferty was born in Dublin, Ireland;
6 he left Ireland in the 1950s and worked at an airport in Canada
7 before finding a job as a bartender at the Yankee Clipper (now
8 the Sheraton Yankee Clipper Hotel) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida;
9 and
 
10     WHEREAS, Michael B. Rafferty's skill tending bar in Ft.
11 Lauderdale caught the eye of Illinois businessman Horace
12 Barnhart, who persuaded him to come to Illinois to manage the
13 bar at the Butterfield Country Club in Oak Brook; after
14 Barnhart bought the eatery at 22nd Street and Midwest Road in
15 Oak Brook known as Andy's in the early 1960s, he took Mr.
16 Rafferty with him; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Michael B. Rafferty and his wife bought the
18 restaurant from Barnhart in 1978; after the sale, he made minor
19 changes to the restaurant, remodeling the bar, building a small
20 addition, and adding "Seafood" to the restaurant's name in the
21 mid-1980s; the place was a success, with a dedicated group of
22 regulars who populated its 100-seat lounge; on St. Patrick's

 

 

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1 Day, Mr. Rafferty brought in Irish dancers and other
2 entertainment, a celebration that resulted in about 1,500
3 customers coming through to eat, drink, and carouse; and
 
4     WHEREAS, After Michael B. Rafferty's son, Dan Sanders, was
5 killed in a plane accident in 1998, he sold the restaurant that
6 same year and the building was torn down; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Michael B. Rafferty is survived by his wife,
8 Nancy; his sons, Scott Sanders and Michael; his daughter, Lisa
9 Nickey; his brothers, William, Noel, and Thomas; his sister,
10 Marie Plunkett; and his eight grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
11     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL
12 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
13 his family and friends, the passing of Michael B. Rafferty; and
14 be it further
 
15     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
16 presented to the family of Michael B. Rafferty as an expression
17 of our sympathy.