Full Text of SR0943 96th General Assembly
SR0943 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of
Mal Bellairs of Woodstock, who passed | 4 | | away on July 12, 2010; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Mal Bellairs was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in | 6 | | 1919; he spent his early years on a cattle ranch in Colorado; | 7 | | he later attended the Pasadena Playhouse in California to study | 8 | | acting; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, In the late 1930s, Mal Bellairs moved to Chicago; | 10 | | after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he married Josephine | 11 | | Elizabeth Morrissy and enlisted in the United States Army, | 12 | | where he was commissioned as an officer and served in post-war | 13 | | Japan; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, After World War II, Mal Bellairs and his wife | 15 | | returned to Chicago, where he began his 50-year legendary | 16 | | broadcasting career and started raising his family; from 1955 | 17 | | to 1969, he worked at WBBM, hosting programs such as Lucky | 18 | | Ladies, Music Wagon, and his annual holiday special, which | 19 | | featured the music of Christmas from around the world; in 1969, | 20 | | he moved the family from Wilmette to Woodstock, where they | 21 | | bought the AM radio station (WIVS) in Crystal Lake, and a few | 22 | | years later the FM station (WXRD) in Woodstock; the stations |
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| 1 | | became a family-run business, with many of the children working | 2 | | alongside their parents and learning the trade; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, After the passing of his beloved first wife, Mal | 4 | | Bellairs was fortunate enough to meet Maria Henslee, fall | 5 | | deeply in love for the second time, marry, and bring their two | 6 | | families together; in 1982, after selling his radio stations, | 7 | | he began to ease out of daily operations, giving he and his | 8 | | wife more time to pursue the things they enjoyed, including | 9 | | their family and friends, cooking, bridge, and travel, | 10 | | especially to Liscrona, their gray stone manor house in | 11 | | Ireland; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Mal Bellairs will be remembered fondly by his | 13 | | family, friends, and millions of listeners for his recognizable | 14 | | voice, masterful way with words, and his ability to listen to | 15 | | people and let them talk without interrupting; he rarely read | 16 | | from a script and agreed to do commercials only for products he | 17 | | could endorse personally, often testing the products himself or | 18 | | visiting plants and factories to watch them being made; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, In 2009, Mal Bellairs was named a Regional Pioneer | 20 | | Broadcaster by the Illinois Broadcasters' Association; he was | 21 | | also a proud member of the American Federation of Television | 22 | | and Radio Artists; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Mal Bellairs is survived by his loving wife of 34 | 2 | | years, Maria; his children, Keith (Judy) Bellairs, Jerry | 3 | | (Vivian) Bellairs, Pat Bellairs, Kim (Neal) Esterly, Rick | 4 | | (Ellen M.) Bellairs, Jeff (Ellen E.) Bellairs, Chris (Jeannie) | 5 | | Bellairs, Edward (Sally) Henslee, Ann Henslee, and Sue Samet; | 6 | | his grandchildren, David and Bryan Esterly, Edward, Nick,and | 7 | | Maria Samet, Vivian Willis, Mason Bellairs, Brennan and Tessa | 8 | | Jania, Joseph, Matt, Stacie, and Malcolm Bellairs, Nigel and | 9 | | Graham Bellairs, Mallory and Jade Bellairs, Kelly Hallam, Rob | 10 | | Leana, and Shannon Taylor; therefore, be it
| 11 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | 12 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 13 | | his family and friends, the passing of Mal Bellairs; and be it | 14 | | further
| 15 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 16 | | presented to the family of Mal Bellairs as an expression of our | 17 | | sympathy.
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