HR0919 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0919 LRB103 42867 LAW 76118 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate the Wendt Funeral Home for being one of the oldest funeral homes in the United States; and

WHEREAS, The Wendt Funeral Home was originally established by cabinetmaker J. Robert Earler in 1866; and

WHEREAS, J. Robert Earler, who came to Illinois from Germany and was called upon to provide wooden caskets to farmers in the area, opened a funeral parlor in Port Byron shortly after the Civil War; he then passed his business to his son-in-law, August H. Wendt, in 1881; and

WHEREAS, August H. Wendt ran the funeral parlor from 1881 to 1920 before passing it on to his sons, Earl and Robert Wendt, who ran the family business until 1945; during their ownership, they purchased a large Queen Anne Victorian house in Moline, where the business continues to operate; and

WHEREAS, The Wendt Funeral Home continued to be passed on through brothers and sons; today, it is owned and operated by Earl Wendt IV, the sixth generation of the family, who became a licensed funeral director after graduating from Worsham School of Mortuary in 1983 and took over the funeral home upon his father's passing; and

WHEREAS, The Wendt family is immensely proud of the family funeral business and credits its success to their values of compassion, professionalism, and attention to detail, a legacy carried on through six generations; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the Wendt Funeral Home for its longstanding business and service to its community, and we wish it many more years of operation for generations to come; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Wendt Funeral Home as a symbol of our respect and esteem.