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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Calvin Frank Kolar of Carbondale and Lake
4Gogebic, Michigan, who passed away on January 23, 2020; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Calvin Kolar was born in Cicero to Albert and Ella
6Kolar on July 24, 1924; he graduated from Morton East High
7School in Cicero; he grew up during the Depression, and the
8experience became the foundation for his strong work ethic; he
9was inducted into the U.S. Army on May 29, 1943 and was
10honorably discharged on February 17, 1946; he married Ruth
11Helen Livzey on October 5, 1946; they had three children and
12raised them in Wonder Lake; they then built a home on the
13family farm in nearby Hebron; in the early 1960s, they
14purchased land on Lake Gogebic, Michigan, which became their
15summer and fall residence; during the winter months, they spent
16several years in Bradenton, Florida; they eventually moved to
17Carbondale, where their son was located; and
 
18    WHEREAS, During WWII, Calvin Kolar served in the U.S. Army
19Air Corps; he initially went to pilot training school at North
20Carolina State University in Raleigh; as the war progressed,
21his entire pilot class was shifted into bomber air crew
22training; he was assigned to fly on a B-24 bomber and underwent
23training as an aerial gunner and navigator; he served as a

 

 

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1member of a bomber crew, which was part of the Eighth Air Force
2at the U.S. Army Air Corps base in Norwich, England; from late
3January 1945 until the end of the war in May 1945, he
4participated in bombing missions over Germany; over the years,
5he stayed in touch with almost all of his former bomber crew
6members; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Upon returning to the U.S., Calvin Kolar went into
8the printing trade and apprenticed as a line-o-type operator;
9he eventually became a journeyman typesetter; he worked out of
10union halls in Chicago and Waukegan, working for such
11newspapers as the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times; he
12also worked for several smaller printing companies within the
13Chicago and Waukegan area; he dabbled in odd jobs throughout
14his life, including managing a "put and take" pheasant hunting
15operation in northern Illinois for three years; alongside his
16wife, he operated a concession/boat rental/bait shop business
17for several years at the McHenry Dam and Moraine Hills State
18Parks in McHenry County; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Calvin Kolar was very active in the International
20Typographical Union and spent time on the picket lines on more
21than one occasion; he was a strong supporter of workers'
22collective bargaining rights; and
 
23    WHEREAS, Calvin Kolar was known for his devotion to his

 

 

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1family; he also had a penchant for outdoor activities,
2including hunting, fishing, and mushroom hunting; he was also a
3member of the Epiphany Lutheran Church in Carbondale; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Calvin Kolar was preceded in death by his wife of
571 years, Ruth Helen Livzey; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Calvin Kolar is survived by his son, Clay; his
7daughters, Karen and Lynn; his five grandchildren; his four
8great-grandchildren; and his many friends from Illinois,
9Michigan, Florida, and elsewhere; therefore, be it
 
10    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
11ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
12Calvin Frank Kolar and extend our sincere condolences to his
13family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
14further
 
15    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
16presented to the family of Calvin Kolar as an expression of our
17deepest sympathy.