HR0742 LRB096 14880 KXB 29746 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Robert C.
4 "Bob" Atherton of Palatine, who passed away on September 6,
5 2009; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Robert Atherton was born July 16, 1927, in Grand
7 Rapids, Michigan; he graduated from the Senn High School in
8 Chicago in 1945, but had attended Chicago's Sullivan High
9 School for most of his high school years; during World War II,
10 he served in the United States Army from 1945 to 1946; using
11 the G.I. Bill, he received a degree in foreign trade from the
12 Latin American Institute; the first languages he studied were
13 Spanish, French, and Portuguese; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Following employment with the Malco Machinery
15 Co., he embarked on a plan to build a business in Mexico; while
16 that did not take-off, he utilized more than a year of
17 bicycling over 7,000 miles to be well-acquainted with many
18 European countries, as well as northwestern Africa; following
19 that, he founded Raco Industrial Corp. in 1953 and Raco remains
20 one of the most prominent machinery dealers in the United
21 States today; and
 
22     WHEREAS, He also served as board member at all levels of

 

 

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1 the Machinery Dealers National Association, and was President
2 from 1970 to 1972; he was also the first U.S. dealer to become
3 a member of the then the Association of European Machine Tool
4 Merchants (A.E.M.T.M.) (later, the European Association of
5 Machine Tool Merchants (E.A.M.T.M.)) and was the first to be
6 honored as a "Fellow" with the Europeans; and
 
7     WHEREAS, He was well-known for his outstanding, tireless
8 dedication to his work, but also lived life and loved life to
9 the fullest, traveling around the world five times, climbing
10 over 230 mountains on six continents, and river rafting and
11 boating on over 214 rivers of the earth; and
 
12     WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his parents, Curry and
13 Edith Atherton; and his sons, Robert David and Richard Hillary;
14 and
 
15     WHEREAS, He is survived by his beloved wife of 51 years,
16 Martha; and his son, John Curry Atherton; therefore, be it
 
17     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
18 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
19 mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Robert
20 Atherton; and be it further
 
21     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be

 

 

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1 presented to the family of Robert Atherton as a symbol of our
2 sincere sympathy.