RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, William L. Becker has been called to eternal life by the wisdom of God at the age of 78; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council has been informed of his passing by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and
WHEREAS, Bill is survived by his second wife, Lauralea Suess, daughter, Cathy Becker, his brothers Robert and Christopher, and a granddaughter; and
WHEREAS, Bill was born in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, New York to his mother, Catherine and father, William Ludwig Becker; and
WHEREAS, Bill was class valedictorian at Notre Dame High School in Easton, Pennsylvania, and attended Haverford College; and
WHEREAS, He went to law school at Washington University, where he met his first wife, Maureen DeBlois and stayed married to her for about 40 years until her death in 2007; and
WHEREAS, Bill and Maureen settled in Glen Ellyn, Illinois after he was hired by the law firm Laner Muchin, where he represented coal mines, Chicago grocers, and WTTW-TV and WFMT-FM; and
WHEREAS, During the late 1980s, Oprah Winfrey hired the law firm Laner Muchin for its labor expertise and Bill's experience with broadcasting clients; and
WHEREAS, Several years later, when Oprah asked him to become her in-house general counsel, he retired from Laner Muchin and also became vice president of Harpo Inc.; and
WHEREAS, After the passing of his long-time wife of 40 years, Bill met his second wife, a teacher, Lauralea Suess and married in 2009; and
WHEREAS, To his beloved family, William L. Becker imparts a legacy of faithfulness, service and dignity; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members ofthe Chicago City Council, assembled this twenty-fourth day of March, 2021, do hereby commemorate William L. Becker for his grace-filled life and do hereby express our condolences to his family; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of William L. Becker.