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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Nello Ferrara, the patriarch of the
4Ferrara Pan Candy Company, who passed away on February 3, 2012;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, Nello Ferrara was born in Chicago and grew up in
7Chicago's Taylor Street neighborhood and attended St. Ignatius
8College Prep High School; he graduated from DePaul Law School
9in 1942 and immediately joined the United States Army in
10counter-intelligence during World War II; he worked in Tokyo
11after the war as a Japanese war crimes prosecutor; and
 
12    WHEREAS, He joined the Ferrara Pan company, founded by his
13father, Salvatore, in 1947; Salvatore and his brothers-in-law
14were Italian immigrants who started the business in 1908,
15making sugar-coated almond "confetti" candies with a special
16recipe brought over from Italy; and
 
17    WHEREAS, After World War II, Nello Ferrara capitalized on
18the company's signature product, Red Hots, a spicy cinnamon pan
19candy; he created the legacy Ferrara brands Atomic Fireballs
20and Lemonheads; under his leadership, Ferrara Pan became a
21candy company of national prominence; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, He married Marilyn Bies in January of 1949 and
2they were married for 63 years; he used to sing "Wind Beneath
3my Wings" to his wife; his family was the light of his life;
4they had dinner together every Sunday as a family and he would
5stand in front of the stove cooking for his grandchildren and
6kids, making spaghetti and meatballs with gravy and sausage;
7and
 
8    WHEREAS, He was inducted into the Candy Hall of Fame in
91974; in 1975, he received the Kettle Award from Candy Industry
10Magazine and was named Man of the Year by the National
11Confectioners Association; he remained chairman of the board at
12Ferrara Pan into his 90s; and
 
13    WHEREAS, He was of the Catholic faith and was made a Knight
14of Malta in February of 1963 by Pope John XXIII; he was very
15active and he still played cards at the Ridgemoor Country Club
16in Harwood Heights twice a week; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Nello Ferrara was the father of Serajean (the late
18John) Alioto, Salvatore II (Andrea), and Nella (William) Davy;
19the grandfather of Marilyn and Joseph Alioto, Nello II, Alana
20Ferrara and Lauren (Matthew) Houder, Salvatore (Francesca),
21William Jr. and Nello Davy; the great-grandfather of Matthew
22and Charles Houder, and Salvatore Davy (Francesca); the brother
23of Florence (Adam) Stillo and the late Benita (the late

 

 

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1William) Capraro; and the uncle of many nieces and nephews;
2therefore, be it
 
3    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL
4ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
5his family and friends, the passing of Nello Ferrara; and be it
6further
 
7    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
8presented to the family of Nello Ferrara as a symbol of our
9sincere sympathy.