SR0483 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0483 LRB101 12734 MST 61508 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Sylvia Dawn Jones Walton-Alston, who passed away on May 24, 2019; and

WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston was born in Chicago on August 30, 1944 and raised by her parents, Rivers and Alma Jones, and her stepfather, John Powell; she attended Forrestville Elementary School and graduated from Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable High School in 1962, the first high school built for African Americans in the City of Chicago; she then attended Los Angeles Community College; and

WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston returned to Chicago and spent 34 years inspiring learners and leaders; she worked as the assistant librarian at Dunbar Vocational, Richards, and Spaulding high schools and then spent most of her career as the assistant librarian at DuSable High School; she retired in 2004 but continued volunteering at the school, often driving graduating seniors to college when they had no other means of getting there; and

WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston married and later divorced Leo Walton and then married the love of her life, Wilmer Perry Alston, on March 15, 1969; and

WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston was a member of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church, the oldest Black Catholic parish in Chicago; she served as a member and president of the Parish Council; she organized clothing drives and dress sales, the food pantry, Breakfast with Santa, and the church bazaar; she became known for arranging fundraising trips to local casinos; she led the charge to build a new church in 1987 after the old building was destroyed by fire in 1930 and the congregation had spent 57 years worshipping in the church's gymnasium; she was recognized by Pope John Paul II and was named an honorary Nun of the Blessed Sacrament; and

WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston enjoyed attending functions with family and friends, dressing up and going out, and staying current on the latest technology; she was a member of the Forrestville Block Club and the Coalition to Save DuSable; she also advocated to save St. Elizabeth Catholic School, where one of her daughters and most of her grandchildren attended; she was a longtime member and the corresponding secretary of the DuSable Alumni Coalition and a top fundraiser for the United Negro College Fund; and

WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston was preceded in death by her parents; her stepfather; her daughter, Kellie; and her husband, Wilmer Perry Alston; and

WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston is survived by her sister, Nicolette Jones-Turner; her daughters, Brandie (Earl) and Courtney (Marvis); her stepdaughter, Wilma Theresa (Robert) Thorn; her grandchildren, Brandon and Elizabeth Miller, Ashley Patton, Kourtney and Dakota Alston, Alston Wilson, Shanell McMoris, Mark Lowe, Olivia Morris, and Romel, Rashun, Cassiana, and Ratisha Cotton; her special nieces, Divina Alston, Valerie Hunter, and Verlane Franklin; her special nephews, Walter Lee Turner and Emmery Burnette; her great-grandchildren, Madison Washington and Varnell Cotton; and numerous other family members, her neighborhood family, her DuSable family, and her church family; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Sylvia Dawn Jones Walton-Alston and extend our sincere condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Sylvia Walton-Alston as an expression of our deepest sympathy.