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92_SR0535
LRB9217839RHrh
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, W. Clement Stone founded a multimillion-dollar
3 insurance empire with $100 and sought to buck up the world
4 with the idea that anyone might do the same--all they need is
5 "positive mental attitude"; and
6 WHEREAS, W. Clement Stone, the founder of Combined
7 Insurance Co., who through his private foundation, passed
8 along $275 million for education and childhood development
9 since 1958, passed away on September 3, 2002; and
10 WHEREAS, W. Clement Stone was born in Chicago on May 4,
11 1902 to Louis and Anna Stone; and
12 WHEREAS, After peddling newspapers on Chicago street
13 corners as a child, Mr. Stone moved to Detroit with his
14 mother and started selling insurance at age 16; at the age of
15 20, he used his $100 savings to set up his own insurance
16 agency; within eight years, about 1,000 agents throughout the
17 country were selling insurance for him; and
18 WHEREAS, In 1946, W. Clement Stone bought the struggling
19 Pennsylvania Casualty Co. which grew steadily under his watch
20 and became the base for the insurance giant, Combined
21 International Corp.; and
22 WHEREAS, Famous for his pencil-thin black mustache, his
23 polka-dot bow ties, and a solid fix on motivation as the
24 engine of success, Mr. Stone identified so strongly with PMA,
25 positive mental attitude, that was the ticker symbol for
26 Combined International Corp., when shareholders formed it in
27 1980; Combined International Co. merged in 1982 with Ryan
28 Insurance, and in 1987 the name changed to Aon Corp.; and
29 WHEREAS, W. Clement Stone married his high school
30 sweetheart on June 16, 1923 and had three children; there are
31 twelve grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren; and
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1 WHEREAS, W. Clement Stone collaborated with Napoleon Hill
2 to write "Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude" (1960);
3 he also authored "The Success System That Never Fails"
4 (1962), and also co-authored "The Other Side of the Mind"
5 (1964) with Norma Lee Browning; and
6 WHEREAS, In 1979, the W. Clement and Jessie V. Stone
7 Foundation established the "Endow a Dream Award" to honor
8 persons who employ PMA principles to overcome adversity and
9 contribute to the betterment of humanity; and
10 WHEREAS, W. Clement Stone was nominated for the 1981
11 Nobel Peace Prize by three U.S. Senators and former Secretary
12 of State Henry Kissinger; and
13 WHEREAS, Over the years W. Clement Stone has been honored
14 by many organizations and holds eighteen honorary Doctorate
15 degrees; and
16 WHEREAS, W. Clement Stone was a member of the National
17 Board of Boys and Girls Clubs of America for over 50 years
18 and served on the executive committee of the International
19 Federation of Keystone Youth Organizations; he was also the
20 Vice-Chairman of the National VOLUNTEER Center, served on the
21 National board of the Robert Schuller Ministries; and was the
22 Chairman Emeritus of the Aon Corporation; and
23 WHEREAS, W. Clement Stone's achievements were a source of
24 inspiration to the entire community and State; therefore, be
25 it
26 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SECOND GENERAL
27 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
28 all who knew him, the death of W. Clement Stone of Chicago;
29 and be it further
30 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
31 presented to the family of W. Clement Stone with our sincere
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1 condolences.