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HR1363 |
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LRB094 20858 HSS 59259 r |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the |
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| State of Illinois learned with regret of the death of Reathel |
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| M. Odum on June 6, 2006; and
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| WHEREAS, She was the daughter of Thomas Brittain Odum and |
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| Myrtle Powell Odum; she graduated from Benton High School in |
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| 1926; and
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| WHEREAS, After high school, she worked for Marion Hart at |
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| the Franklin County Title Company in Benton; she then worked |
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| for the First National Bank of Benton during the Great |
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| Depression until 1933; she also worked for the First National |
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| Bank in East St. Louis and was an assistant to the president of |
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| the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis; and
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| WHEREAS, She served as secretary for U.S. Senator Harry S. |
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| Truman of Missouri in his Washington, D.C., office; she |
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| continued to work for Mr. Truman while he was Vice President, |
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| taking dictation and typing his speeches; one of her many |
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| duties included showing various family members around |
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| Washington when they came to visit; and
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| WHEREAS, She became very close with the Truman family and |
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| would babysit for their daughter, Margaret Truman; she and |
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| Margaret remained lifelong friends; and
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| WHEREAS, Miss Odum went on to serve as personal assistant |
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| for Bess Truman and then Secretary to the First Lady; she lived |
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| with the Trumans, first in the Blair House and then in the |
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| White House; she worked for the Trumans from 1936 to 1953; and
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| WHEREAS, The passing of Reathel M. Odum has been deeply |
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| felt by many, especially her nephew, Richard 0. Hart; her |
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| niece, Susan McGannon; her great-nephews, Murphy C. Hart and |