RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Reverend Robert Jerome Botthof has been called to eternal life by the wisdom of God at the age of 85; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council has been informed of his passing by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and
WHEREAS, The Reverend Robert Jerome Botthof was a longtime school administrator and a widely admired member of the religious community; and
WHEREAS, The Reverend Robert Jerome Botthof became a Dominican priest after losing his wife of 23 years, Mary Elizabeth, to cancer in 1980; and
WHEREAS, Raised in Chicago during the Great Depression, the Reverend Robert Jerome Botthof served in the United States Marine Corps from 1953 to 1955; and
WHEREAS, After his discharge from the military, the Reverend Robert Jerome Botthof taught at Niles East Township High School in Skokie where he met his future wife, a native of downstate Taylorville; and
WHEREAS, The Reverend Robert Jerome Botthof was Principal of Oak Park and River Forest High School from 1972 to 1982; and
WHEREAS, The Reverend Robert Jerome Botthof entered the novitiate two years after his wife's death and was ordained in 1987 as a member of the Dominican Order of Preachers, Province of St. Albert the Great; and
WHEREAS, During his religious life, the Reverend Robert Jerome Botthof was the President and Principal of Feriwick High School in Oak Park from 1987 to 1994 and oversaw its transition to a coeducational institution; and
WHEREAS, The Reverend Robert Jerome Botthof also served as Pastor at St. Vincent Ferrer Parish in River Forest, as Parochial Vicar at St. Domitilla Parish in Hillside and as Pastoral Director at the Dominican Shrine of St. Jude in Chicago; and
WHEREAS, The holiness, sacrifice and dedication of the Reverend Robert Jerome Botthof serve as an example to all; and
WHEREAS, The Reverend Robert Jerome Botthof will be dearly missed and fondly remembered by his many relatives, friends and admirers; and
WHEREAS, To his son, James, his daughter, Mary Alice, his five grandchildren and his great-grandchild, the Reverend Robert Jerome Botthof imparts a legacy of faithfulness, service and dignity; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council, assembled this fifth day of November, 2014, do hereby commemorate the Reverend Robert Jerome Botthof for his grace-filled life and do hereby express our condolences to his family; and
Aide
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this
resolution be presented to the family of the Reverend Robert
Jerome Botthof. // _