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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the
3 State of Illinois learned with regret of the death of Dr.
4 Howard Moltz on Friday, November 26, 2004; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Born in the Bronx, Dr. Moltz met his wife,
6 Marilyn, when he was 13 years old and she was a year younger;
7 they married in 1948; and
 
8     WHEREAS, He valiantly served his country as a member of the
9 U.S. Navy, joining in 1945; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Dr. Moltz graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in
11 philosophy and psychology from New York University in 1949 and
12 continued his studies there, earning a PhD in 1953; he was a
13 faculty member at Brooklyn College until 1970, when he joined
14 the University of Chicago's psychology faculty as a
15 biopsychology professor; he served as the department chair
16 until 1973; he later added Jewish studies to the classes that
17 he taught and was a fellow of the American Association for the
18 Advancement of Science; he served as president of the
19 International Society for Developmental Psychology; and
 
20     WHEREAS, The bulk of the New York native's work centered on
21 the sexual and parental behavior of rats; one of the highlights
22 of Mr. Moltz's career included his discovery of the maternal
23 pheromones used by female rats to attract their nursing babies
24 and protect them from disease during weaning; and
 
25     WHEREAS, Although his interests led him to conduct
26 wide-ranging research, his work was always concerned with the
27 connection between the mind and body; late in his career, he
28 joined research into understanding the origins and nature of
29 homosexuality; his findings, which showed that male sexual
30 orientation appears to be connected to brain metabolism, were

 

 

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1 published in the Brain Research journal this fall after he and
2 fellow scientists unveiled the study at the Society for
3 Neuroscience conference in New Orleans last year; the
4 breakthrough research used high-tech imaging to show that the
5 hypothalamus, the area of the brain that regulates the sex
6 drive, functions differently in gay and straight men; and
 
7     WHEREAS, To his colleagues, Dr. Moltz was a researcher of
8 extremely high standards who readily imparted that precision to
9 his students; he loved good writing and words; his wit and
10 compassion, usually conveyed through his writing, could bring
11 laughter and a tear to the eye; he always treated his students
12 as equals, asking them to refrain from calling him "doctor";
13 and
 
14     WHEREAS, Dr. Moltz was the heart and soul of the
15 interdisciplinary faculty lunch group at the University's
16 Quadrangle Club round table; his insatiable and wide-ranging
17 curiosity, his perceptive insights, and his wealth of knowledge
18 kept his colleagues on their toes - and often well beyond the
19 lunch hour; and
 
20     WHEREAS, The passing of Dr. Howard Moltz has been deeply
21 felt by many, especially his wife, Marilyn; his daughters,
22 Erica Moltz (Russ Kinner), Lauren Moltz (John Clement), and
23 Marci Malter (Norman Malter); his brother, Alan; and his seven
24 grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
25     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
26 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
27 mourn the passing of Dr. Howard Moltz, and we offer our deepest
28 sympathy to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved
29 him; and be it further
 
30     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
31 presented to the family of Dr. Moltz as an expression of our

 

 

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1 sincere condolences.