SR0267 LRB094 12665 CSA 47509 r

1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Dr. Maurice F. Rabb, Jr. of Chicago passed away on
3 June 6, 2005; he was recognized internationally as an
4 ophthalmologist specializing in retinal diseases; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Dr. Rabb was born in Shelbyville, Kentucky, on
6 August 7, 1932, to Dr. Maurice F. Rabb, Sr. and Mrs. Jewel
7 Miller Rabb; he graduated from Central Colored High School,
8 earned a baccalaureate degree in biology from the University of
9 Louisville in 1954, and graduated from the University of
10 Louisville School of Medicine in 1958; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Dr. Rabb completed his medical internship at Kings
12 County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, and studied
13 ophthalmology at New York University; at the University of
14 Illinois at Chicago he served as chief resident and was the
15 first African-American resident; and
 
16     WHEREAS, After completing a cornea fellowship at the
17 University of California at San Francisco, he obtained a grant
18 from the Illinois Society to Prevent Blindness to relocate and
19 medically update the Illinois Eye Bank at the University of
20 Illinois; during his 43-year affiliation with the University he
21 also served as a professor who received a number of awards for
22 excellence in teaching, a founder and director of the
23 Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, interim associate
24 vice-chancellor of Urban Health, acting associate chancellor,
25 and director of medical student education in ophthalmology; he
26 received a special recognition award from the University for
27 his extraordinary contributions; and
 
28     WHEREAS, At Mercy Hospital in Chicago he served as the
29 chair of ophthalmology, president of the medical staff, a
30 member of the Board of Directors, and a member of the Mercy
31 Foundation Board; and
 

 

 

SR0267 - 2 - LRB094 12665 CSA 47509 r

1     WHEREAS, Dr. Rabb served on numerous advisory committees;
2 he was the author of textbooks and scholarly articles; he
3 lectured at medical conferences as an expert on corneal disease
4 and retinopathy; he was recognized by many of the most
5 prominent medical organizations in the nation and the world;
6 for forty years he was a dedicated member of the National
7 Medical Association, the national 110-year old organization
8 dedicated to the interests of African-American physicians,
9 which showed its appreciation for his contributions by
10 co-naming a scholarship after his and the late Dr. H. Philip
11 Venable's commitments to patient care, teaching, and research;
12 and
 
13     WHEREAS, He was a dedicated family man, a photographer, a
14 world traveler, cinephile, and gadgeteer; his humor, humility,
15 love, and kindness affected all who were part of his life; and
 
16     WHEREAS, The passing of Dr. Maurice F. Rabb, Jr. is felt by
17 all who knew and loved him, especially his wife of 39 years,
18 Madeline Murphy Rabb; his sons, Maurice F. Rabb III and
19 Christopher Murphy Rabb; his mother, Jewel Miller Rabb; his
20 uncle, Louis A. Rabb; his daughter-in-law, Prof. Imani Perry;
21 and his grandson, Freeman Diallo Perry Rabb; therefore, be it
 
22     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL
23 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the
24 countless contributions of Dr. Maurice F. Rabb, Jr. to his
25 profession and community and to the health of people around the
26 world, and we join his family and friends in their sorrow at
27 this time of loss; and be it further
 
28     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
29 presented to his family as an expression of our deepest
30 sympathy.