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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3 learn of the death of Dr. William Henry Requarth of Decatur,
4 who passed away on June 2, 2008; and
 
5     WHEREAS, William Henry Requarth was born on January 23,
6 1913, in Charlotte, North Carolina, the son of Charles and
7 Amelia George Requarth; he married Nancy Charlton in August of
8 1948; he later married Connie Harper in May of 1977; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Dr. Requarth served in the United States Navy
10 during the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and helped rescue
11 sailors from the burning oil in the water; he was also the
12 first doctor to perform open heart surgery in the City of
13 Decatur; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Dr. Requarth's education includes Millikin
15 University, Decatur; University of Illinois, College of
16 Medicine, Chicago, where he received his B.S. in 1935, M.D. in
17 1938, and M.S. (Surgery) in 1940; Intern, St. Lukes Hospital,
18 Chicago from 1938 to 1939; Fellow in Surgery, University of
19 Illinois, College of Medicine from 1940 to 1941; Resident
20 Surgeon, Cook County Hospital from 1940 to 1941 and 1946 to
21 1947; Surgical Staff Appointments include Instructor in
22 Surgical Technique, Cook County Graduate School of Medicine,

 

 

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1 1946; Attending Surgeon, University of Illinois Hospitals,
2 Chicago, 1946 to 1969; Associate Attending Surgeon, Cook County
3 Hospital, Chicago, Night Surgeon, 1947 to 1949; Attending
4 Surgeon, Veterans Administration Hospital, Chicago, 1946 to
5 1949; Attending Surgeon, Henrotin Hospital, Chicago, 1946 to
6 1949; and Attending Surgeon, St. Mary's and Decatur Memorial
7 Hospitals, 1949 to 1984; and
 
8     WHEREAS, His awards include the Alumni Merit Award,
9 Millikin University in 1960; Association of Commerce Merit
10 Award in 1961 (Contributions to General Aviation); Flying
11 Physicians Association Pilot of the Year in 1961 (Contributions
12 to General Aviation); Alumnus of the Year, Millikin University
13 in 1970; Distinguished Service Award, University of Illinois in
14 1972; alumnus of the Year (Medicine), University of Illinois in
15 1983; and LLD, Doctor of Humane Letters (Hon), Millikin
16 University in 1996; and he was named Outstanding Trustee and
17 Trustee Emeritus by the Decatur Public Schools Foundation in
18 2004; and
 
19     WHEREAS, His military service includes serving in the
20 United States Navy from 1941 to 1946, served to Commander (MC)
21 USNR; SUBRON 4 (Submarine Squadron Four), Pearl Harbor, T.H.
22 1941; USS Litchfield (destroyer) Pearl Harbor, T.H.; U.S. Naval
23 Air Station, Pensacola, Florida 1942 (Flight Training);
24 Aviation Staff, COMNAVEU (Commander, US Naval Forces in Europe)

 

 

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1 American Embassy, London, England 1943; USS Cabot (aircraft
2 carrier) 1943 to 1944; Naval Air Experimental Station,
3 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Commanding Officer, Aeromedical
4 Research Facility from 1944 to 1945; Great Lakes Naval
5 Hospital, Great Lakes, Attending Surgeon, Plastic Surgery from
6 1945 to 1946; his legacy will include the Dr. William Requarth
7 Surgery Pavilion Wing and the Dr. William Requarth Astronomy
8 Observatory Tower, Millikin University Science Building; and
 
9     WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his parents;
10 brother-in-law, Elbert S. Smith; and mother and father-in-law,
11 Jean M. and Raymond R. Harper; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Surviving are his wife, Connie Requarth; his first
13 wife, Nancy Charlton Sedgwick; his children, Kurt Requarth,
14 Betsy (Dr. Robert) Risner, Jeff (Justine) Requarth, Jan
15 Requarth, Timothy Requarth, and Suzy Requarth and partner Sarah
16 Roper; his grandchildren, Matthew Talbert (Deana) and Quinn
17 May; his four great-grandchildren; his sister and lifelong
18 friend, Pauline R. Smith and her children, Mary Jane Hamilton
19 and William B. Smith; his sisters and brothers-in-law, Michael
20 (Raquel) Harper, Anne (Larry) Jurgens, Russell (Karen) Harper,
21 Patrick (Deb) Harper, Carol (Robin Fuchs) Harper, and Edward
22 (Dawn) Harper; and his many nieces and nephews; therefore, be
23 it
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL
2 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
3 his family, friends, colleagues, and those whose lives he
4 touched, the passing of Dr. William Requarth; and be it further
 
5     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
6 presented to the family of Dr. William Requarth as a symbol of
7 our sincere condolences.