Full Text of HR0244 103rd General Assembly
HR0244 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Erich | 4 | | Himmel, who passed away in August of 2022; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Erich Himmel was born outside of Munich,
Germany | 6 | | in the City of Moosburg on January 3, 1936; he was joined by | 7 | | his wife of 65 years, Ingeborg "Inge", when he emigrated to New | 8 | | Hampshire in 1958; they later
moved to
Chicago for his work as | 9 | | a mechanic for Volkswagen (VW); and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Erich Himmel was drafted
into the U.S. Army while | 11 | | a German citizen and served with honor in
Germany during the | 12 | | building of the Berlin Wall; following his military career, he
| 13 | | returned to Chicago as a general manager for VW, eventually | 14 | | opening several Volkswagen
dealerships; he and his daughter, | 15 | | Carol, built a
successful autobody shop, which is still in the | 16 | | family
today and presently operated by his grandson, Erich; | 17 | | and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Erich Himmel became president of the
Rheinischer | 19 | | Verein Mardi Gras Society in 1984, and he served in that
| 20 | | position for more than 25 years; after being mentored
by Karl | 21 | | Laschet, he became president of the United
German American | 22 | | Societies; he was knighted for his
service and later held the |
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| 1 | | position of grand chancellor
for the United States of The Het | 2 | | Golden Vleis; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, For
his contributions to the preservation of | 4 | | German
culture in foreign lands, Erich
Himmel received the | 5 | | highest civilian
medal of honor from the President of Germany | 6 | | in 1984, the
Bundesverdienstkreutz First Class medal of honor; | 7 | | in 2020, he realized his
dream of creating a German Haus for | 8 | | all the clubs in
an umbrella organization to call home and | 9 | | celebrated
the 100-year anniversary of the United German | 10 | | American
Societies with family and friends; he served as the
| 11 | | grand marshal of the Von Steuben parade in Chicago
for | 12 | | decades, bringing together diplomats, public
officials, | 13 | | members of the German American Societies,
and many others for | 14 | | this wonderful neighborhood
celebration; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Erich
Himmel was a friend and mentor to many, | 16 | | from
public officials to newcomers to the United States from | 17 | | Germany
and other countries to his employees to community
| 18 | | members; he embraced every opportunity to educate people about | 19 | | German culture and
traditions; he passed these values to his | 20 | | two
daughters who, as German Americans, have carried on
his | 21 | | legacy of welcoming people of all backgrounds to
celebrate and | 22 | | enjoy German culture; and
| 23 | | WHEREAS, At the time of his passing, Erich
Himmel was |
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| 1 | | survived by his wife, Inge; his daughters, Diana and Carol; | 2 | | his
son-in-law, Jerry; his grandchildren, Erich "Bubba"
| 3 | | (Esther), Michelle (JJ), and Ashley; and his
| 4 | | great-grandchildren, Parker and Hudson; therefore, be it
| 5 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 6 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 7 | | we mourn the passing of Erich Himmel and extend our sincere | 8 | | condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved | 9 | | him; and be it further
| 10 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 11 | | presented to the family of Erich Himmel as an expression of our | 12 | | deepest sympathy.
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