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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Dr. | ||||||
| 4 | Opear Ree (Cooley) Myles, who passed away on March 9, 2025; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Dr. Myles was born to Garfield Cooley Sr. and | ||||||
| 6 | Ivory Mae Cooley in Grenada, Mississippi on October 25, 1928; | ||||||
| 7 | she was the eldest of seven children; she attended the public | ||||||
| 8 | school system in Grenada; she later relocated to Chicago; she | ||||||
| 9 | married Evangelist Mark Myles Sr. in 1953; and | ||||||
| 10 | WHEREAS, Dr. Myles maintained a successful career in the | ||||||
| 11 | Chicago Public School (CPS) system for over 18 years; during | ||||||
| 12 | her tenure, she positively impacted the minds of the students, | ||||||
| 13 | staff, and faculty members that she frequently encountered; | ||||||
| 14 | and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, Dr. Myles supported her husband in his | ||||||
| 16 | establishment of the Van Buren Street Church of Christ on | ||||||
| 17 | Chicago's West Side in 1959, which is known today as the Far | ||||||
| 18 | West Church of Christ; she faithfully served the Far West | ||||||
| 19 | congregation as a teacher of Sunday school and the Ladies' | ||||||
| 20 | Bible Class, a mentor for the youth and adults, and a spiritual | ||||||
| 21 | guidance counselor until she was unable to attend; she had the | ||||||
| 22 | opportunity of seeing three of her sons become evangelists | ||||||
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| 1 | themselves, Evangelists Mark Myles Jr. and Luke Myles Sr. of | ||||||
| 2 | Far West Church of Christ and Evangelist Matthew Myles of | ||||||
| 3 | Central Pointe Church of Christ in Bloomington, where he | ||||||
| 4 | serves as senior minister; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Dr. Myles was a member of the National Dinner Day | ||||||
| 6 | and the Penny Pageant Committees of the Chicago area Churches | ||||||
| 7 | of Christ; she was also a member of the Bowser Association of | ||||||
| 8 | Women; and | ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, Dr. Myles received an Honorary Doctorate of | ||||||
| 10 | Humane Letters for her commitment to faith and Christian | ||||||
| 11 | education from Dr. Jack Evans Sr., then-president of | ||||||
| 12 | Southwestern Christian College, in 2012; she was featured as | ||||||
| 13 | one of the three eldest widows of gospel preachers of the | ||||||
| 14 | African American Churches of Christ in the April 2019 | ||||||
| 15 | Lectureship Edition of the Christian Courier; and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, Dr. Myles, who was regarded as the "Senior First | ||||||
| 17 | Lady of All Ministers' Wives in Chicago", a "Sister of the | ||||||
| 18 | Struggle", and a "Woman of God", served as a tremendous | ||||||
| 19 | influence to her family, her church, her community, the | ||||||
| 20 | Chicago area Churches of Christ, and the entire brotherhood; | ||||||
| 21 | and | ||||||
| 22 | WHEREAS, Dr. Myles was a beloved mother, grandmother, and | ||||||
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| 1 | godmother who will be remembered for her wisdom, her devotion, | ||||||
| 2 | and her contributions to her faith; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 3 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 4 | HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 5 | we mourn the passing of Dr. Opear Ree (Cooley) Myles and extend | ||||||
| 6 | our sincere condolences to her family, friends, and all who | ||||||
| 7 | knew and loved her; and be it further | ||||||
| 8 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 9 | presented to the family of Dr. Myles as an expression of our | ||||||
| 10 | deepest sympathy. | ||||||