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92_SR0508
LRB9217845RHrh
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to
3 express their sincerest condolences to the family and friends
4 of Henry Altman, who passed away on September 4, 2002; and
5 WHEREAS, Since 1947, Henry Altman, who ran Altman Modern
6 Woodwork Inc. out of his shop in Chicago's Bridgeport
7 neighborhood, found comfort and joy in leading worshipers in
8 songs of prayer at his synagogue, now called B'nai Yehuda
9 Beth Sholom Synagogue; and
10 WHEREAS, Mr. Altman's fascination with music began as a
11 child growing up in Berlin, where he used to rush through his
12 studies in order to listen to records on his parents'
13 Victrola; he sang in his synagogue choir, and many of the
14 prayers he sang as cantor were learned there, tunes more
15 associated with a Romantic style than with traditional Jewish
16 prayer music; and
17 WHEREAS, Mr. Altman also learned carpentry, and when the
18 Nazis came to power, his skill as a woodworker saved him,
19 along with some help from his mother; and
20 WHEREAS, Mr. Altman and his family fled to the United
21 States, settling on Chicago's South Side in 1938; four years
22 later, the U.S. Army drafted him; finding that a nearsighted
23 carpenter wasn't much use as a gunner or pilot, the Army made
24 him an assistant to the chaplain, singing for both Jewish and
25 Catholic services; after the war, he returned to Chicago and
26 took voice lessons while he started his woodworking business;
27 and
28 WHEREAS, In 1947 the leaders at Hyde Park Liberal
29 Congregation asked Mr. Altman to fill in for their cantor,
30 who had fallen ill; the congregation eventually relocated to
31 Homewood, changed its name to B'nai Yehuda, and in 1998
-2- LRB9217845RHrh
1 merged with another synagogue, Beth Sholom; but the one
2 constant was Mr. Altman; and
3 WHEREAS, Mr. Altman met his wife, Trudi, at the Hyde Park
4 Liberal Congregation in June 1949; they married six months
5 later on December 25, 1949; and
6 WHEREAS, Mr. Altman retired in 1985, which gave the
7 couple more time to travel to far off destinations, including
8 the Arctic, Borneo, South Africa and Tanzania; and
9 WHEREAS, The passing of Henry Altman will be deeply felt
10 by all who knew and loved him, especially his wife, Trudi;
11 his son, Ronald; his daughter, Janice Barr; and his four
12 grandchildren; 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 all who knew him, the death of Henry Altman of Chicago; and
16 be it further
17 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18 presented to the family of Henry Altman with our sincere
19 condolences.