State of Illinois
90th General Assembly
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90_SR0082

                                               LRB9005821KBkb
 1                          SENATE RESOLUTION
 2        WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to  send
 3    their condolences to the family of Juanita Thompson Tucker of
 4    Chicago, Illinois; and
 5        WHEREAS,  Juanita Tucker was born in Dubberly, Louisiana,
 6    on July 18, 1930; her  parents  were  Henry  and  Lillie  Lee
 7    Thompson;  Juanita  was  the second of four daughters born in
 8    the family; Juanita accepted Jesus Christ as her  Saviour  at
 9    an  early  age and joined with the Mt. Nebo Baptist Church in
10    Dubberly; upon her family's move to Chicago in 1943,  Juanita
11    joined the Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church; and
12        WHEREAS,  Juanita  Tucker  and  her  family  lived in the
13    Bronzeville area of the  city,  where  she  attended  Douglas
14    Elementary  School; in 1948 Ms. Tucker graduated from Wendell
15    Phillips  High  School,  a  school  that  would  hold  future
16    significance in her life; she received her Bachelor  of  Arts
17    in Music from Northwestern University in 1952; at the time of
18    her  college  education, segregation was occurring on several
19    campuses, which required Ms. Tucker  to  commute  daily;  the
20    struggles  of  college  and  the  changing  atmosphere in the
21    country did not deter Juanita from graduating cum laude;  she
22    went  on  to  receive  her  Masters  in  Music Education from
23    Roosevelt University; she also worked on graduate studies  at
24    the University of Illinois in Chicago, the Illinois Institute
25    of Technology, and Chicago State University; and
26        WHEREAS,  While  taking  a  train ride to visit a college
27    friend, Ms. Tucker met her future husband, Kenneth Tucker  of
28    Wichita,  Kansas;  with  a  courting  technique involving his
29    homemade  nut  cookies,  Kenneth  married  Juanita  in  1955;
30    together  they  had  three  children;  Linda,  Lillian,   and
31    Kenneth; and
32        WHEREAS,  Juanita  Tucker began her career in the Chicago
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 1    Public Schools as a primary teacher,  and  then  went  on  to
 2    become  a  music  teacher;  after  several  years, Ms. Tucker
 3    transferred to her alma mater, Wendell Phillips High  School;
 4    at  Wendell  Phillips  she  served  as  a music teacher and a
 5    guidance counselor; as a part of the guidance department, Ms.
 6    Tucker  saw  many   students   placed   into   colleges   and
 7    universities around the country; as a result of her hard work
 8    and  dedication, Juanita Tucker was inducted into the Wendell
 9    Phillips Hall of Fame; and
10        WHEREAS, Juanita Tucker served as Assistant Principal and
11    then Principal of Wendell Phillips; as Principal  Ms.  Tucker
12    worked on school reform, improving academic standards for the
13    students, providing a stronger and more nurturing environment
14    for  the  students, and seeking out job opportunities for her
15    students; as Principal she, along with help from the Tuskegee
16    Airmen, established the first and only Air Force ROTC program
17    in the Chicago Public Schools; and
18        WHEREAS, Juanita  Tucker  kept  Wendell  Phillips  alive;
19    working with community leaders, she made sure that the school
20    was recognized as a valuable part of the Bronzeville area; in
21    1995 she traveled to Japan as part of an educational exchange
22    program;  through  her  many  projects  and  efforts, Juanita
23    Tucker let people know how proud she was of Wendell  Phillips
24    High School; and
25        WHEREAS,  In  addition  to her work in the Chicago public
26    schools Juanita Tucker was a full time church  musician;  she
27    played  for  over  thirty years at Pilgrim Missionary Baptist
28    Church, and later continued her career as Minister  of  Music
29    at  Martin Temple A.M.E. Zion Church and as director of music
30    at St. Mark's Evangelical Church; in  1979  Juanita  and  her
31    family  joined  with  Martin Temple A.M.E. Zion Church, where
32    she remained an active member; and
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 1        WHEREAS, Juanita Tucker is remembered  for  many  things;
 2    she  was known as "the suit lady" because of her good fashion
 3    sense and her impeccable power suits; Juanita and her husband
 4    Kenneth made sure that their children were provided with  the
 5    best in education, and together they worked toward that goal;
 6    and
 7        WHEREAS, Juanita Tucker is survived by her loving husband
 8    Kenneth;  her  two daughters, Linda E. Tucker and her husband
 9    William Preston, and Lillian Tucker Johnson and  her  husband
10    Marion;  her son Kenneth H. Tucker; her two sisters Fannie M.
11    Turner and Olivia M. Teverbaugh; her granddaughters,  Jessica
12    Leslie  Tucker  Preston and Joanna Carrie Tucker Preston; her
13    two nephews, Robert Teverbaugh and Wendell Turner; as well as
14    several other relatives and friends; therefore, be it
15        RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
16    OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,  that  we  mourn,  along  with  her
17    family  and  friends, the death of Juanita Tucker of Chicago,
18    Illinois; and be it further
19        RESOLVED, That a suitable  copy  of  this  resolution  be
20    presented  to  the  family  of  Juanita  Tucker  of  Chicago,
21    Illinois, along with our sincere condolences.

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