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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Ruth Thompson Law, who passed away on
4April 13, 2011; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Ruth Law was born on March 16, 1935, in Milton,
6Massachusetts; her parents were Willard Weir and Gertrude Brown
7Thompson; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Ruth Law graduated from Colby Junior College in
91954; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Ruth Law traveled extensively throughout the Far
11East, learning about the people, culture, and cuisine of the
12region while giving numerous cooking classes, lectures, and
13culinary and shopping tours; during her travels, she visited
14China, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia,
15Indonesia, the Philippines, and India; she featured her talents
16in her "What's Cooking" cooking school, which she operated out
17of her home in Hinsdale from 1981 to 1998; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Over the years, she had the honor of studying and
19cooking with James Beard, Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Emeril
20Lagasse, Graham Kerr, Rick Bayless, Art Smith, and Martin Yan,
21her mentor; she dined in Thailand with the Queen of Thailand,

 

 

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1in Jaipur, India with the Dalai Lama, and in New Delhi with
2Mother Teresa; and
 
3    WHEREAS, As a result of her passion for travel and sharing
4her knowledge, Ruth Law wrote four cookbooks; her first, "Dim
5Sum - Fast and Festive Chinese Cooking", was a Book of the
6Month Club selection in 1982; "The Southeast Asia Cookbook",
7which appeared on the Chicago Tribune Best Seller List, was a
8Better Homes and Gardens book club selection and was chosen by
9People magazine as one of the best cookbooks of 1990; "Indian
10Light Cooking" was a Julia Child Cookbook Award Finalist;
11"Pacific Light Cooking" was selected as one of the 10 best
12health cookbooks of the year by Health magazine and Ms. Law was
13awarded the 1998 Chicago Women in Publishing award for the
14book; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Ruth Law appeared on Good Morning America and
16numerous other television and radio programs; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Until recently, Ruth Law was the culinary director
18for Bloomingdale's in Oak Brook, where she was able to combine
19her love of food, teaching, and her keen sense of humor into a
20position in life she cherished; she enjoyed bringing in local
21and national chefs for Bloomingdale's Saturday Chef series and
22working with them to cook for an audience filled with dedicated
23and loyal friends and customers; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Ruth Law was preceded in death by her brother,
2Ralph Willard Thompson; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Ruth Law is survived by her son, Grant Wordsworth
4(Mary) Law Jr.; her daughters, Alison Law (Ted) Darling and
5Sarah Thompson Law; her granddaughters, Ellen "Maggie"
6Margaret and Anna Weir Darling; her sister-in-law, Joy
7Thompson; and her nephews and niece, Glen, Ronald, and Nancy
8Thompson; therefore, be it
 
9    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL
10ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
11her family and friends, the passing of Ruth Thompson Law; and
12be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14presented to the family of Ruth Law as an expression of our
15sympathy.