SR0883 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0883 LRB094 21949 KXB 60428 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to extend their sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Gerald S. Gidwitz of Chicago, who passed away on Tuesday, July 11, 2006, just six days before his 100th birthday; and

WHEREAS, He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of a cotton farmer and general store owner; he moved with his family to Chicago when he was 12 years old; he married Jane Blumenthal in 1944; she preceded him in death in 2001; and

WHEREAS, He graduated from the University of Chicago, and in 1927, he went to work for National Minerals Co.; his family gained control of the firm and renamed it Helene Curtis Industries; he was chairman of Helene Curtis from 1952 until the family sold the company in 1996; and

WHEREAS, Besides cosmetics, Gerald Gidwitz found or acquired companies involved in real estate, building materials, farm equipment, oil wells, and uranium, zinc, and copper mines; and

WHEREAS, Gerald Gidwitz funded literacy programs that he hoped would help people earn their GEDs; he served on the board of Roosevelt University and worked with the National Planning Association, a group working to get economic groups to work together to solve national problems, as well as creating programs to improve education and promote literacy; and

WHEREAS, He was a staunch conservative and a foe of communism; in 1962, he launched a monthly magazine that digested information on military, political, and technological aspects of the Cold War; he also owned the Armed Forces Journal for a time; and

WHEREAS, He supported cultural institutions, including the Auditorium Theatre and Steppenwolf Theatre; he grew orchids at his greenhouse at his Highland Park home until he moved to the city in the 1970s and was an avid tennis player until his early 90s; and

WHEREAS, The passing of Gerald S. Gidwitz has been deeply felt by many, especially his sons, Ronald, James, Peter, and Thomas; his daughter, Nancy; and his nine grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Gerald S. Gidwitz, and we extend our sincere condolences to his family and his friends; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Gerald Gidwitz.