SR0916 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0916 LRB095 22982 GRL 53436 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Paul Pesthy, who passed away on October 27, 2008; and

WHEREAS, Paul Pesthy was a native of Budapest, Hungary; as a teenager, he participated in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution against the Soviet occupation of the country; after his parents helped him escape and obtain asylum in Colombia, a United States Army general spotted him at an athletic competition and got him inducted into the U.S. Army; and

WHEREAS, During his tenure in the U.S. Army, Paul Pesthy studied at Rutgers in New Jersey and won several NCAA and national fencing championships, including a team championship in 1964; that same year, he joined the U.S. Olympic team as a member of the modern pentathlon team that won the silver medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games; he was also a member of the Olympic national fencing team in 1968, 1976, and 1980, but couldn't compete in the 1980 Moscow games due to the American boycott; and

WHEREAS, Shortly after participating in the Tokyo Olympic Games, Paul Pesthy went to the San Antonio, Texas area and nearly single-handedly built a house in Bulverde; while in San Antonio, he taught kinesiology at San Antonio College for more than 20 years and served as the director of the national pentathlon association in San Antonio before it moved to the control of the U.S. Olympic Committee; he also began coaching and mentoring numerous athletes, such as 2008 Olympic fencer Kelley Hurley of San Antonio and former pentathlon world champion Bob Nieman; and

WHEREAS, Paul Pesthy is survived by his loving wife, Carolyn; and

WHEREAS, Paul Pesthy will be remembered by all who knew and loved him as a wonderful husband and athlete who loved representing the country that offered him freedom; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Paul Pesthy; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Paul Pesthy as an expression of our sympathy.