Full Text of SR0637 93rd General Assembly
SR0637 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois | 3 |
| learned with regret of the death of Clarence J. Ruddy of Aurora | 4 |
| on Monday, June 21, 2004; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Ruddy was born in Batavia on June 20, 1905; he | 6 |
| moved to Aurora, with his parents, Master Plumber Clarence S. | 7 |
| Ruddy and Mae Behan Ruddy of Kilrush, County Clare, Ireland, in | 8 |
| 1910; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Ruddy attended Our Lady of Good Counsel Grade | 10 |
| School and was a 1922 graduate of East Aurora High School; he | 11 |
| received both his undergraduate and law degrees from the | 12 |
| University of Notre Dame, where he founded and became the first | 13 |
| Editor-in-Chief of the Notre Dame Lawyer, now known as the | 14 |
| Notre Dame Law Review; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Ruddy began his legal career in Aurora in | 16 |
| 1927, and was for many years a partner in the Law Firm of | 17 |
| Alschuler, Putnam, Johnson, and Ruddy, before opening his own | 18 |
| firm, and establishing a partnership with Charles J. Myler, in | 19 |
| 1961; since his retirement from the full time practice of law | 20 |
| in 1985, he remained "Of Counsel" to the firm in Aurora, now | 21 |
| known as Myler, Ruddy & McTavish; and
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| WHEREAS, An active member of the Democratic Party since | 23 |
| beginning his legal career, Mr. Ruddy carried Aurora in his | 24 |
| first political race, when he ran as the Democrat candidate for | 25 |
| State's Attorney of Kane County in 1932; although unable to | 26 |
| carry the north end of the county in the election, he remained | 27 |
| committed to the principles of his party and during his | 28 |
| lifetime served as a delegate to several Democratic National | 29 |
| Conventions; in 1937, he was appointed to be a member of the | 30 |
| Electoral College and traveled to the White House, where he met | 31 |
| with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, following his |
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| inauguration to his second term in office; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Ruddy served as an Illinois Assistant Attorney | 3 |
| General from 1933 to 1941 and as a Special Assistant Attorney | 4 |
| General from 1961 to 1969; he was a former Chairman of the Kane | 5 |
| County Democrats and remained an active and proud member of the | 6 |
| national and local Democratic parties throughout his life; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Ruddy was licensed to practice law in all | 8 |
| local, State, and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme | 9 |
| Court; in addition to his active roles in the local legal | 10 |
| community, including his presidency of the Kane County Bar | 11 |
| Association in 1944 and 1945, Mr. Ruddy held various | 12 |
| memberships and offices in the Illinois State Bar Association, | 13 |
| the American Bar Association, and the American Judicature | 14 |
| Society; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Ruddy was also very involved in the Aurora | 16 |
| civic community and was one of the original founders of the | 17 |
| Aurora Foundation; he was president of the Aurora War Fund in | 18 |
| 1943 and 1944 and a long-time member of the Aurora Chamber of | 19 |
| Commerce, serving as its president in 1949; he participated in | 20 |
| numerous fundraising campaigns for Copley and Mercy Hospitals | 21 |
| as well as Holy Angels Church and many other local charities; | 22 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Ruddy was very active in the Loyal Order of | 24 |
| Moose; in addition to being a 65-year member and four-term | 25 |
| local Governor of Local Lodge 400, he was a Past Supreme | 26 |
| Governor of the Order and was awarded the Pilgrim Degree of | 27 |
| Merit, the Order's highest degree, in 1942; he served for many | 28 |
| years on the Supreme Council of the Order and was the | 29 |
| fraternity's General Counsel for the Supreme Lodge for over 20 | 30 |
| years; he continued to serve as a member of Supreme Lodge | 31 |
| Judiciary Committee until his death; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Ruddy was well-known throughout the community | 2 |
| for his continuing dedication to his town, his church, his alma | 3 |
| mater of Notre Dame, and his active participation in the | 4 |
| Democratic Party and the Loyal Order of Moose; he belonged to | 5 |
| numerous other clubs and organizations, including the Aurora | 6 |
| Country Club, the Elks and Sierra Clubs, and he was one of the | 7 |
| founders of the local chapter of the Knights of Columbus, | 8 |
| serving as its first recording secretary; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Ruddy strongly believed that it was an honor | 10 |
| to be a member of the legal profession, and that this | 11 |
| membership enabled him to work with and assist people of all | 12 |
| walks of life; Mr. Ruddy's civility, friendliness, and | 13 |
| enthusiasm for living were hallmarks of his career and earned | 14 |
| him countless friends and clients throughout Kane County and | 15 |
| the State of Illinois; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1997, Mr. Ruddy was preceded in death by his | 17 |
| wife of 57 years, Dorothy Culkin Ruddy; his passing has been | 18 |
| deeply felt by many, especially his children and their | 19 |
| families, Attorney Philip C. Ruddy (wife, Colleen), and | 20 |
| children, Philip, Jr. and Erin Sabey; Mary Margaret Zumoff, | 21 |
| (husband, Attorney Robert Zumoff), and children, Jacob and | 22 |
| Becca; Attorney Clarence John Ruddy, Jr. (wife, Lorna), and | 23 |
| children, Alison, Erica and John Patrick; and his two | 24 |
| great-grandchildren, Julia Colleen Sabey and Reed Andrew Sabey | 25 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL | 26 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 27 |
| Clarence J. Ruddy, and we extend our deepest sympathy to his | 28 |
| family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 29 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 31 |
| presented to the family of Clarence J. Ruddy as an expression | 32 |
| of our sincere condolences.
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