HR0772 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0772 LRB101 13325 MST 62167 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Bishop Harold Breon Dawson Jr. of Peoria, who passed away on July 14, 2019; and

WHEREAS, Harold Dawson was born in Peoria to Mattie Pearl and Bishop Harold Dawson Sr. on August 5, 1970 as they organized New Hope Church of Deliverance; he earned a bachelor's degree from Jackson State University and studied at the Lincoln Christian Seminary; he earned a divinity degree from Virginia Union University while battling cancer and lung disease; he was accepted as a candidate for a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology; and

WHEREAS, Harold Dawson was complemented in devotion, life, and love by his wife, Lori T. Guyton; they were blessed with three children, Harold Breon III, Haven Bre'aire, and Harrington Blake; he expressed fatherly love, joy, and pride in each of his children; he expressed love and passion in his union; and

WHEREAS, Harold Dawson was licensed and ordained as a minister by his father; he served as pastor of New Hope International Ministries for over a decade; he founded and organized New Life Christian Church to bring pastoral care to new people through innovative programs; he evangelized and ministered to people in South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago; he received consecration as a bishop in 2016; and

WHEREAS, Harold Dawson exhibited a commitment to his community, serving on the boards of the Peoria Chapter of the NAACP, the Peoria Ministers Economic Development Organization (PMEDO), Catholic Charities, the Peoria Community Area Project (PCAP), the Peoria County Citizens Advisory Board, Illinois One Family One Child, the Peoria Christian Leadership Council (PCLC), and the Wayne A. Downing Metropolitan Airport Authority; he served on the Morehouse School of Medicine's Imani Project Board to address HIV/AIDS in the African American community; he worked as a case manager and recruiting director at the Lifeline Connections Advocacy Center; he was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity; and

WHEREAS, Harold Dawson was a devoted husband and father; his amazing personality, wit, charming smile "with dimples", and warm, fatherly touch shall never fade into oblivion; and

WHEREAS, Harold Dawson was preceded in death by his mother, Evangelist/Prophetess Mattie Pearl Dawson; his father-in-law and mentor, Pastor A. J. Guyton; and his grandmothers, Mother Maybelle Mitchell and Leila Mae Dawson; and

WHEREAS, Harold Dawson is survived by his wife of 22 years, Lori; his children, Harold III, Haven, and Harrington; his father, Harold Sr.; his sisters, Sheirie Dawson and Shannon Dawson Galloway (Stacy); his brother, Ahmad Jamal Dawson (Jewel); his mother-in-law, Lena M. Guyton; and many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Bishop Harold Breon Dawson Jr. and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

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