093_SR0081
LRB093 11266 HSS 12799 r
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of
3 Illinois were saddened to learn of the death of James Wesley
4 DeShields on Saturday, February 15, 2003; and
5 WHEREAS, Mr. DeShields was born on October 2, 1915 to
6 Frank Berlin DeShields and Burleanna Amanda Jones; he was the
7 youngest of three boys and five girls; he attended and
8 graduated from the Garfield Elementary School and the Lincoln
9 Junior and Senior High Schools; and
10 WHEREAS, Mr. DeShields attended the University of
11 Illinois and graduated with a bachelor's degree in education;
12 he was initiated into Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. in
13 1944; he served his country as a Private First Class in the
14 United States Army and was honorably discharged; and
15 WHEREAS, Mr. DeShields married Nancy Fern Boyd on August
16 7, 1941 in Danville; he taught school from 1947 to 1965 at
17 Carver School on "The Hill" and later taught in the Project
18 Conquest Reading Program-Title 1 Project as a monitoring
19 teacher under the direction of Mrs. Bettye Spann; he retired
20 in June of 1981 after 34 years of service; and
21 WHEREAS, Mr. DeShields was a member of St. Paul Baptist
22 Church for over 50 years; he served as a trustee for the Star
23 Church Aid Society as well as treasurer of finance, and he
24 was the organizer and chairman of the Benevolent Fund
25 Committee for many years; he served as superintendent of the
26 Church Sunday School from 1965 through 1985, and when he
27 retired was named Superintendent Emeritus; and
28 WHEREAS, Mr. DeShields will be remembered as a man who
29 loved God and reflected that love in the way he lived his
30 life; his passing has been deeply felt by all who knew him,
31 especially his wife, Nancy Fern; his daughter, Joyce (Gene)
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1 DeShields-Moore; his grandchildren, Monica Sykes, Candace
2 Dunlap, Kerri Stewart, Christina Mullins, and James Mullins;
3 his great-grandchildren, Brianna, Arielle, Christian,
4 Barrington, Lena, and Derrius; and his host of nieces,
5 nephews, cousins, friends, and his church family; therefore,
6 be it
7 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL
8 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that together with his
9 family, friends, and all who knew and loved him, we mourn the
10 passing of James Wesley DeShields and extend to them our
11 deepest sympathy; and be it further
12 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
13 presented to the family of James DeShields as a token of our
14 sincere condolences.