State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_SR0508

 
                                               LRB9217845RHrh

 1                          SENATE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, The members  of  the  Illinois  Senate  wish  to
 3    express their sincerest condolences to the family and friends
 4    of Henry Altman, who passed away on September 4, 2002; and

 5        WHEREAS,  Since 1947, Henry Altman, who ran Altman Modern
 6    Woodwork  Inc.  out  of  his  shop  in  Chicago's  Bridgeport
 7    neighborhood, found comfort and joy in leading worshipers  in
 8    songs  of  prayer  at  his synagogue, now called B'nai Yehuda
 9    Beth Sholom Synagogue; and

10        WHEREAS, Mr. Altman's fascination with music began  as  a
11    child growing up in Berlin, where he used to rush through his
12    studies  in  order  to  listen  to  records  on  his parents'
13    Victrola; he sang in his synagogue choir,  and  many  of  the
14    prayers  he  sang  as  cantor  were learned there, tunes more
15    associated with a Romantic style than with traditional Jewish
16    prayer music; and

17        WHEREAS, Mr. Altman also learned carpentry, and when  the
18    Nazis  came  to  power,  his skill as a woodworker saved him,
19    along with some help from his mother; and

20        WHEREAS, Mr. Altman and his family  fled  to  the  United
21    States,  settling on Chicago's South Side in 1938; four years
22    later, the U.S. Army drafted him; finding that a  nearsighted
23    carpenter wasn't much use as a gunner or pilot, the Army made
24    him an assistant to the chaplain, singing for both Jewish and
25    Catholic  services; after the war, he returned to Chicago and
26    took voice lessons while he started his woodworking business;
27    and

28        WHEREAS,  In  1947  the  leaders  at  Hyde  Park  Liberal
29    Congregation asked Mr. Altman to fill in  for  their  cantor,
30    who  had fallen ill; the congregation eventually relocated to
31    Homewood, changed its name  to  B'nai  Yehuda,  and  in  1998
 
                            -2-                LRB9217845RHrh
 1    merged  with  another  synagogue,  Beth  Sholom;  but the one
 2    constant was Mr. Altman; and

 3        WHEREAS, Mr. Altman met his wife, Trudi, at the Hyde Park
 4    Liberal Congregation in June 1949; they  married  six  months
 5    later on December 25, 1949; and

 6        WHEREAS,  Mr.  Altman  retired  in  1985,  which gave the
 7    couple more time to travel to far off destinations, including
 8    the Arctic, Borneo, South Africa and Tanzania; and

 9        WHEREAS, The passing of Henry Altman will be deeply  felt
10    by  all  who  knew and loved him, especially his wife, Trudi;
11    his son, Ronald; his daughter,  Janice  Barr;  and  his  four
12    grandchildren; therefore, be it

13        RESOLVED,  BY  THE  SENATE  OF  THE NINETY-SECOND GENERAL
14    ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along  with
15    all  who  knew him, the death of Henry Altman of Chicago; and
16    be it further

17        RESOLVED, That a suitable  copy  of  this  resolution  be
18    presented  to  the  family  of  Henry Altman with our sincere
19    condolences.

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