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SR0355 |
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LRB093 14772 KEF 40326 r |
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois |
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| were saddened to learn of the death of Clarence E. Willis Sr. |
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| of Alton on November 29, 2003; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Willis was born October 17, 1920, in Lebanon |
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| to Clarence A. and Carrie B. (Burns) Willis; and
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| WHEREAS, He married the former Mary L. Greene October 17, |
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| 1942 in St. Louis; she preceded him in death; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Willis grew up in Lebanon, and served with the |
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| United States Navy during World War II; he was a wire mill |
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| laborer and shop steward with Laclede Steel for 33 years, where |
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| he was the chairman of the Ladle Club, Joint Safety Committee, |
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| Joint Civil Rights Committee, and the Community Services |
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| Committee; and
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| WHEREAS, He was President of the Alton Branch of the NAACP, |
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| a board member and first black president of Alton Community |
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| Unit School District No. 11, President and Scholarship Chairman |
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| of the Lewis and Clark Community College Foundation Board, St. |
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| Joseph's Hospital Advisory Board, Commissioner and Chairman of |
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| the Alton Housing Authority, Commander of Alton VFW Post No. |
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| 3899, and Chairman of the Administrative Advisory Committee for |
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| J.B. Johnson Career Development Center; and
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| WHEREAS, For the American Heart Association, he served on |
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| the Illinois Affiliate board of directors, chairman of the |
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| Administration Council and the Upper Madison County Heart |
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| Association, Illinois Affiliate of the American Heart |
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| Association; he was appointed by former Governor James Thompson |
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| as a commisssioner of the Southwestern Illinois Metropolitan |
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| and Regional Planning Commission; and
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SR0355 |
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LRB093 14772 KEF 40326 r |
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| WHEREAS, He was a member of the Boy Scouts Awareness |
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| Exploration Program, the Southwestern Illinois Area Wide |
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| Business Development Finance Corporation, the Madison County |
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| Economic Opportunity Commission Board of Directors, and the |
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| Disabled American Veterans; and
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| WHEREAS, He was also a member, Sunday School teacher, and |
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| Sunday School superintendent, first at the Mount Olive Baptist |
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| Church in Lebanon and later at the New Bethel A.M.E. Church in |
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| Godfrey; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Willis's passing will be deeply felt by many, |
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| especially his two daughters and their husbands, Joanne and |
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| Sanford McMurray and Anita and Carl Woodard; his four sons and |
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| three daughters-in-law, Gregory and Mary Willis, Clarence E. |
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| and April Willis Jr., Paul L. and Sharon Willis, and Brian K. |
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| Willis; his 23 grandchildren; his 20 great-grandchildren; 2 |
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| great-great-grandchildren; his six sisters and two |
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| brothers-in-law, Magdalena Howard, Pauline Rhea, Earline |
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| Jackson, Carolyn McBride, Aletha and William Watkins, and |
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| Sharon and Joe Cannon; his four brothers and two |
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| sisters-in-law, Charles Willis, Ralph and Minnie Willis, |
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| Kenneth Willis, and Dwight and LaVern Willis; and
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| WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his parents; his |
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| granddaughter; two sisters; and three brothers; therefore, be |
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| it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL |
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| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the death of |
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| Clarence E. Willis Sr. along with all who knew and loved him |
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| and extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends; |
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| and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
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| presented to the family of Clarence E. Willis Sr. as an |