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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Joan Pfau Callahan of Waukegan, who
4passed away on May 1, 2009; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Joan Callahan was born on December 4, 1928 in
6Racine, Wisconsin, the oldest child of Ennis "Speedy" Pfau and
7Charlotte (Robertson Pfau) Moore; she graduated from San
8Jacinto High School in Texas, attended Rice University, and
9then transferred to the University of Illinois at
10Urbana-Champaign, where she was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha;
11while at the University of Illinois, she met Harold R.
12Callahan, whom she married on October 22, 1949; and
 
13    WHEREAS, She lived in Waukegan for the next 60 years; she
14earned her real estate license in 1969; a few years later, she
15and two partners started their own firm, Callahan Blandings
16Schaper Realtors (CBS); after 20 successful years as a real
17estate agent and broker, she retired in 1989, although she
18continued to be one of the owners of North Shore Printers,
19Inc.; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Joan was very active in her community, including
21being a founding member and past President of the Waukegan
22Community Players, the AAUW Nursery School, Lake County

 

 

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1Crimestoppers, and the Waukegan Garden Club; she was elected to
2three 6-year terms on the Waukegan Park District Board and also
3served as President; she was a member and past President of the
4Waukegan Schools Foundation; she was a member of the Junior
5Women's League, a board member of the Waukegan Lake County
6Chamber of Commerce, and a lifetime member of the Glen Flora
7Country Club; she was a member of many environmental groups,
8including the Illinois Dunesland Society, the Audubon Society,
9and the Nature Conservancy; and
 
10    WHEREAS, In the late 1990s, she spearheaded Waukegan's
11efforts to replant Liberty Elms after Dutch Elm Disease ravaged
12the town's trees; she was a member of St. Anastasia Church; she
13was an avid athlete who swam nearly every day, and, in 2004,
14she was proud and thrilled when she was awarded her varsity
15letter from the University of Illinois for participating in
16both swimming and basketball in the 1940s; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Joan will be remembered by her large and loving
18family and to all who knew or came in contact with her as a
19unique and generous individual; she was a quirky collector of
20antiques, a world traveler, and a theater and movie buff who
21rarely slowed down; in her 70s, she participated in the Polar
22Bear Plunge and was a Senior Olympic Basketball Champion; her
23collection of rings, purses, and sweaters never failed to get
24noticed and she always had a story to share to go along with

 

 

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1them; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Joan Callahan was preceded in death by her best
3friend and husband of 57 years, Harold; her father; her mother;
4her brothers, John and Jim; her son-in-law, David Franklin; and
5her adored son, Henry; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Joan Callahan is survived by her children, Joe
7(Caroline), Peter (Crystal), Jay (Mary T.), Melissa, Charlotte
8(Martin) Wozniak, Shelagh (Ray La Soya), and Amy; and her
9beautiful grandchildren, Kimberly, Kellyn, Katie, Tierney,
10Chandler, Zachary, Jacob, Matt, Grant, Zoe, and Henry;
11therefore, be it
 
12    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL
13ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
14her family and friends, the passing of Joan Callahan; and be it
15further
 
16    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
17presented to the family of Joan Callahan as a symbol of our
18sincere sympathy.