SR0028 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0028 LRB096 04435 GRL 14486 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Mary Murphy Bitto of Wildwood, who passed away on December 14, 2008; and

WHEREAS, Mary Murphy Bitto was born on July 28, 1931 in Hannibal, Missouri; her parents were James John Murphy and Genevieve Gatson Murphy; she moved with her family to Chicago in 1936, where she attended parochial schools and graduated from Providence High School in 1948; and

WHEREAS, Mary Murphy Bitto was married to Louis H. Bitto on May 28, 1949; during their 53 years of marriage, Mary and her husband set an example for their 12 children and many grandchildren, showing that love, family, and friends were more important than material things; and

WHEREAS, Mary Murphy Bitto was an avid reader, combining her devotion to children and her love of books in her volunteer work in the reading department at Prairie View Elementary School in Grayslake; for more than five years, she tutored individual students and read to entire classrooms nearly every day as part of the Foster Grandparents Program; she was affectionately called "Grandma Mary" by the teachers and students at Prairie View; and

WHEREAS, Mary Murphy Bitto had lived in Wildwood since 1956 and was a longtime member of St. Gilbert Catholic Church; and

WHEREAS, Mary Murphy Bitto was preceded in death by her husband, Louis H. Bitto; her daughter, Louise Bitto Long; her parents; and her brothers, James Murphy and Joseph Murphy; and

WHEREAS, Mary Murphy Bitto is survived by her sister, Joan Hacker; her brothers, Robert Eugene Murphy, Fr. John Murphy, S.J.; her daughter, Christine (Michael Bogdala) Bitto; her sons, Louis Anthony (Linda), Ronald (Constance), Thomas (Doreen), Steven (Maureen), Michael (Patricia), Mark (Carol), Matthew, Andrew (Katherine), Mitchell (Barbara), and Alexander (Kelly); her grandchildren, Sarah Murray, Zachary Long, Lee Johnston, Benjamin, Nicholas, Tracy, Mark, Joseph, Corynn, Claire, Evan, Andrew, Gabriel, Cody, Ryan, Jaclyn, Madeline, Peter, Jack, and Abigail Bitto, Todd Doyle, David, Steve, and Kim Mueller, and Michael and Christopher Koziol; and her great-grandchildren, Addison Bitto, Donovan Doyle, Eric Russ, and Megan, Devin, and Kayleigh Mueller; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with her family and friends, the passing of Mary Murphy Bitto; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Mary Murphy Bitto as an expression of our sympathy.