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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois General Assembly are
3saddened to learn of the death of former Harwood Heights Mayor
4Ray Willas; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Mayor Willas was born to John and Agnes Willas on
6March 17, 1932; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Mayor Willas was a student at St. Fidelis
8Elementary School, Tuley High School, and Wright Junior
9College; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Mayor Willas served his country as an engineer in
11the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Korean War from 1952
12through 1954; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Mayor Willas worked in the private sector as the
14finance director of C.F.S. Continental Coffee and L. Karp &
15Sons; and
 
16    WHEREAS, In 1965, Mayor Willas moved to the Village of
17Harwood Heights and received a parking ticket on his car in
18front of his new home for not displaying a vehicle sticker,
19which was dismissed after a heated discussion with the police
20chief; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Mayor Willas previously served on the Harwood
2Heights Zoning Board of Appeals for two years; in 1968, he was
3appointed to a vacant Harwood Heights trustee's chair and was
4elected to a full term as trustee in 1971; and
 
5    WHEREAS, In 1973, Mayor Willas was elected as mayor of
6Harwood Heights and served in that position until his
7retirement in 2001; and
 
8    WHEREAS, In addition to serving as mayor of Harwood
9Heights, Mayor Willas also served as president of the
10Leyden-Norwood Park Municipal League, president of the West
11Central Municipal League, and as a member of the Illinois
12Municipal League Board; and
 
13    WHEREAS, In 1986, Mayor Willas expressed to the Chicago
14Tribune that being the mayor of a small village meant that "The
15buck stops here. In a small town, people know who to call when
16they have problems...And yes, it delays dinner sometimes, but
17I've found what people usually need is just someone who's
18willing to listen and help, if possible"; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Mayor Willas was married to his wife, Barbara,
20for 64 years and was the father of Mary Kay Pawlak, the
21father-in-law of Gary Pawlak, and the grandfather of Andrew,

 

 

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1Brian (Diego), and Kaitlyn Pawlak; therefore, be it
 
2    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
3HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
4SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we extend our hearts and
5condolences to the family of former Harwood Heights Mayor Ray
6Willas; and be it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That we recognize the decades of service,
8commitment to community, and hard work that Mayor Willas
9dedicated to his home of Harwood Heights, the "island in the
10city", which he succeeded in making a great place to live; and
11be it further
 
12    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
13presented to Barbara Willas, Mary Kay Pawlak, Andrew Pawlak,
14Brian Pawlak, and Kaitlyn Pawlak as an expression of our
15deepest sympathy.