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92_SR0417
LRB9216715BHbh
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3 to learn of the death of Vincent W. Erickson of Norwood Park,
4 who passed away February 27, 2002; and
5 WHEREAS, Mr. Erickson was known for his charitable works
6 and lifelong passion for literature; he overcame poverty to
7 earn three college degrees and became controller at Chicago
8 advertising powerhouse Needham, Louis & Brorby, now DDB
9 Chicago; and
10 WHEREAS, Mr. Erickson grew up in the Andersonville
11 neighborhood in Chicago's North Side; his father died when he
12 was 9 months old, and for several years while Mr. Erickson
13 was in grade school, his mother ran a small boarding house
14 out of the family's apartment; and
15 WHEREAS, Mr. Erickson earned a degree in English from the
16 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1942, then
17 served in Army Intelligence during World War II; during the
18 1950s, Mr. Erickson received a degree in accounting from
19 Northwestern University and an MBA from the University of
20 Chicago; and
21 WHEREAS, After the war, Mr. Erickson got a job with
22 Needham, where he worked for 24 years; in 1951, he married
23 his wife, Norma, and they settled in Norwood Park in 1957;
24 and
25 WHEREAS, Mr. Erickson's passion was literature,
26 especially writers from the American South; he often drove to
27 the hometowns of writers such as Eudora Welty and Thomas
28 Wolfe; he once traveled to Oxford, Mississippi, and wrangled
29 an invitation to William Faulkner's home; and
30 WHEREAS, A member of the Chicago Literary Club, Mr.
31 Erickson used his travels to fuel his lectures to Chicago
-2- LRB9216715BHbh
1 area book clubs; and
2 WHEREAS, Mr. Erickson volunteered thousands of hours for
3 causes such as the Norwood Park Historical Society and two
4 Lutheran churches, where he served as deacon; and
5 WHEREAS, In 1991, the Chicago Department of Aging
6 inducted him into its Senior Citizens Hall of Fame, citing
7 his work tutoring special education students and reading to
8 the blind; and
9 WHEREAS, Mr. Erickson will be deeply missed by all those
10 who knew him and loved him, especially his wife, Norma; his
11 daughter, Carolyn Staven; and his sons, David and John;
12 therefore, be it
13 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SECOND GENERAL
14 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
15 his family and friends, the passing of Vincent W. Erickson of
16 Norwood Park; and be it further
17 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18 presented to the family of Vincent W. Erickson with our most
19 sincere condolences.