Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SR0307

SR0307 LRB104 13551 ECR 26051 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Henry Rakoff, Ph.D., who passed away on May 2, 2025; and

WHEREAS, Henry Rakoff was born to Joseph and Anna in Brooklyn, New York in 1924; he attended schools in Brooklyn; he received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the City College of New York in 1944; he served as an electronics technician in the U.S. Navy; he earned a Master of Science in Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Purdue University; he married Mary Miller, and they had three children, Alan, Steven, and Tracy; he later married Nancy Safford in 1983, and he welcomed two stepchildren, Michael and Lisa; and

WHEREAS, Henry Rakoff worked as a chemistry professor at Texas A&M University and at Parsons College; after relocating to Peoria in the 1970s, he served as a research chemist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture lab, retiring in 1992; afterward, he continued teaching chemistry part-time at Bradley University; and

WHEREAS, Henry Rakoff co-authored an organic chemistry textbook, and he wrote numerous publications on the synthesis of deuterated fatty acids for use in a study of the metabolism of fats in humans; and

WHEREAS, Henry Rakoff was a longtime member of the Universalist Unitarian Church, and he was an active participant at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Bradley University; and

WHEREAS, Henry Rakoff and his wife, Nancy, loved traveling abroad and in the U.S., including hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon seven times; and

WHEREAS, Henry Rakoff was the husband of Nancy; the father of Alan (Maria) Rakoff, Steven Rakoff, and Tracy (Jim) Madril; the stepfather of Michael (Jennifer) Safford and Lisa (Ross) Waskin; the grandfather of 12; and the great-grandfather of four; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Henry Rakoff, Ph.D. and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

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