SR0238 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0238 LRB097 11929 GRL 55404 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Ruth Thompson Law, who passed away on April 13, 2011; and

WHEREAS, Ruth Law was born on March 16, 1935, in Milton, Massachusetts; her parents were Willard Weir and Gertrude Brown Thompson; and

WHEREAS, Ruth Law graduated from Colby Junior College in 1954; and

WHEREAS, Ruth Law traveled extensively throughout the Far East, learning about the people, culture, and cuisine of the region while giving numerous cooking classes, lectures, and culinary and shopping tours; during her travels, she visited China, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and India; she featured her talents in her "What's Cooking" cooking school, which she operated out of her home in Hinsdale from 1981 to 1998; and

WHEREAS, Over the years, she had the honor of studying and cooking with James Beard, Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Emeril Lagasse, Graham Kerr, Rick Bayless, Art Smith, and Martin Yan, her mentor; she dined in Thailand with the Queen of Thailand, in Jaipur, India with the Dalai Lama, and in New Delhi with Mother Teresa; and

WHEREAS, As a result of her passion for travel and sharing her knowledge, Ruth Law wrote four cookbooks; her first, "Dim Sum - Fast and Festive Chinese Cooking", was a Book of the Month Club selection in 1982; "The Southeast Asia Cookbook", which appeared on the Chicago Tribune Best Seller List, was a Better Homes and Gardens book club selection and was chosen by People magazine as one of the best cookbooks of 1990; "Indian Light Cooking" was a Julia Child Cookbook Award Finalist; "Pacific Light Cooking" was selected as one of the 10 best health cookbooks of the year by Health magazine and Ms. Law was awarded the 1998 Chicago Women in Publishing award for the book; and

WHEREAS, Ruth Law appeared on Good Morning America and numerous other television and radio programs; and

WHEREAS, Until recently, Ruth Law was the culinary director for Bloomingdale's in Oak Brook, where she was able to combine her love of food, teaching, and her keen sense of humor into a position in life she cherished; she enjoyed bringing in local and national chefs for Bloomingdale's Saturday Chef series and working with them to cook for an audience filled with dedicated and loyal friends and customers; and

WHEREAS, Ruth Law was preceded in death by her brother, Ralph Willard Thompson; and

WHEREAS, Ruth Law is survived by her son, Grant Wordsworth (Mary) Law Jr.; her daughters, Alison Law (Ted) Darling and Sarah Thompson Law; her granddaughters, Ellen "Maggie" Margaret and Anna Weir Darling; her sister-in-law, Joy Thompson; and her nephews and niece, Glen, Ronald, and Nancy Thompson; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with her family and friends, the passing of Ruth Thompson Law; and be it further

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