SR0461 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0461 LRB095 15019 KXB 40972 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the passing of Thomas Montalbano Sr., who passed away on December 3, 2007; and

WHEREAS, The solid wood French and Baroque style pieces that Thomas Montalbano Sr. designed and made in his factory, Montalbano Majestic Furniture Company in Bellwood, were bought by heads of state and hundreds of individuals who appreciated the craftsmanship; and

WHEREAS, At age 94, Mr. Montalbano stopped working the machines at the factory and officially retired; Mr. Montalbano was one of 10 children; the family moved from Joliet to Chicago and settled on Austin Avenue near Grand Avenue; Mr. Montalbano dropped out of school after grammar school and at age 13 became a carving apprentice; the business started in the family's garage and remained there for the next five years before it moved to a little factory on Chicago Avenue, then a larger facility on Peoria Street; and

WHEREAS, Later, Mr. Montalbano opened a factory in Humboldt Park before World War II and remained there for almost 50 years before moving in the 1980s to Bellwood; at one point in the 1970s and 1980s, the company's pieces were handled by 600 stores nationwide; the company employed 200 people, many who worked for the company for decades; he was a devout Catholic who built a full-size chapel in the middle of the factory where mass is said for his employees about 50 times a year; he also has made desks for schools, pews for churches and performed countless other small deeds; and

WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his sons, Thomas Jr., and Robert; and

WHEREAS, In addition to his wife, M. Patricia, whom he married in 1933, and his son Richard, other survivors include a daughter, Patricia Hugar; 13 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Thomas Montalbano Sr.; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Thomas Montalbano Sr. as a symbol of our sympathy.