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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Mal Bellairs of Woodstock, who passed
4away on July 12, 2010; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Mal Bellairs was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in
61919; he spent his early years on a cattle ranch in Colorado;
7he later attended the Pasadena Playhouse in California to study
8acting; and
 
9    WHEREAS, In the late 1930s, Mal Bellairs moved to Chicago;
10after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he married Josephine
11Elizabeth Morrissy and enlisted in the United States Army,
12where he was commissioned as an officer and served in post-war
13Japan; and
 
14    WHEREAS, After World War II, Mal Bellairs and his wife
15returned to Chicago, where he began his 50-year legendary
16broadcasting career and started raising his family; from 1955
17to 1969, he worked at WBBM, hosting programs such as Lucky
18Ladies, Music Wagon, and his annual holiday special, which
19featured the music of Christmas from around the world; in 1969,
20he moved the family from Wilmette to Woodstock, where they
21bought the AM radio station (WIVS) in Crystal Lake, and a few
22years later the FM station (WXRD) in Woodstock; the stations

 

 

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1became a family-run business, with many of the children working
2alongside their parents and learning the trade; and
 
3    WHEREAS, After the passing of his beloved first wife, Mal
4Bellairs was fortunate enough to meet Maria Henslee, fall
5deeply in love for the second time, marry, and bring their two
6families together; in 1982, after selling his radio stations,
7he began to ease out of daily operations, giving he and his
8wife more time to pursue the things they enjoyed, including
9their family and friends, cooking, bridge, and travel,
10especially to Liscrona, their gray stone manor house in
11Ireland; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Mal Bellairs will be remembered fondly by his
13family, friends, and millions of listeners for his recognizable
14voice, masterful way with words, and his ability to listen to
15people and let them talk without interrupting; he rarely read
16from a script and agreed to do commercials only for products he
17could endorse personally, often testing the products himself or
18visiting plants and factories to watch them being made; and
 
19    WHEREAS, In 2009, Mal Bellairs was named a Regional Pioneer
20Broadcaster by the Illinois Broadcasters' Association; he was
21also a proud member of the American Federation of Television
22and Radio Artists; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Mal Bellairs is survived by his loving wife of 34
2years, Maria; his children, Keith (Judy) Bellairs, Jerry
3(Vivian) Bellairs, Pat Bellairs, Kim (Neal) Esterly, Rick
4(Ellen M.) Bellairs, Jeff (Ellen E.) Bellairs, Chris (Jeannie)
5Bellairs, Edward (Sally) Henslee, Ann Henslee, and Sue Samet;
6his grandchildren, David and Bryan Esterly, Edward, Nick,and
7Maria Samet, Vivian Willis, Mason Bellairs, Brennan and Tessa
8Jania, Joseph, Matt, Stacie, and Malcolm Bellairs, Nigel and
9Graham Bellairs, Mallory and Jade Bellairs, Kelly Hallam, Rob
10Leana, and Shannon Taylor; therefore, be it
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL
12ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
13his family and friends, the passing of Mal Bellairs; and be it
14further
 
15    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
16presented to the family of Mal Bellairs as an expression of our
17sympathy.