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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
COMMEMORATING THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF ELLIOT LEHMAN
WHEREAS, Elliot Lehman, pioneering leader in business, philanthropist and advocate for social justice died at the age of 97 leaving behind family, countless friends and a community enriched for having known him;
WHEREAS, Elliot Lehman was born in the Bronx on Jan. 10, 1919. His father, Saul, emigrated from near Bialystok in present-day Poland at the age of 13, and went into business in New York as a printer. He graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in New York and graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in journalism
WHEREAS, Elliot Lehman served his country during the Second World War. He served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, commanding a wooden submarine chaser in the South Pacific theater. Although he never saw combat, he survived three typhoons; and
WHEREAS, while attending the University of Wisconsin, Elliot Lehman met a Chicagoan named Frances Mecklenburger and the two married in 1940 and settled in Illinois. Elliot joined the Mecklenburger family business, the Felt Products Manufacturing Co., later known as Fel-Pro, a manufacturer of gaskets and sealants. Following his father-in-law's death in 1961, Elliot served as Fel-Pro's co-chairman for three decades, and remained co-chairman emeritus until the company was sold in 1998. He built Fel-Pro gaskets to a dominant position in supplying both heavy-duty trucks and the automotive aftermarket; and
WHEREAS, Elliot Lehman worked for Fel-Pro for over 50 years, most of them as co-chairman with his brother-in-law, Lewis Weinberg. Under their leadership, the Skokie based company became not only a leader in its industry but a widely recognized leader in employee relations, with benefits that included scholarship programs, on-site day care and summer camp for workers' children. They may have sacrificed some profit to run their family-friendly company, but they maintained the ...
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