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SENATE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to  
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learn of the death of
Willie Thomas of Peoria Heights, who 
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passed away on July 10, 2007; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Willie Thomas was born on June 10, 1913, in 
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Jackson, Mississippi; her parents were Albert and Emma (Cox) 
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Brady; she grew up and lived most of her life in Jackson with 
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her older brothers, Julius and Louis Brady; she attended County 
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Line Baptist Church School and later attended Lenior High 
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School in Jackson, Mississippi; she later married and had three 
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children, George Edward Ward, Eugene Powell Jr., and May Emma 
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Samples; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Willie Thomas moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 
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1944; in 1969, she moved to Kewanee, where she owned a soul 
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food restaurant; she later moved to Peoria and purchased a 10 
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acre farm, where she raised and sold livestock; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Willie Thomas was a devoted and loyal Christian 
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throughout her life; she was a member of Peoria Friendship 
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Baptist Church, where she also served as a Mother of the 
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church; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Willie Thomas was known throughout the Peoria 
 


 






SR0291
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Heights neighborhood as "Miss Earlene"; she was best known for 
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her volunteer work at Carver Center, where she spent hours 
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encouraging others and spreading laughter; she made it a point 
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to drive to the center and visit her friends to bring a smile 
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to their faces; the young and old always loved her visits and 
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witty sense of humor; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Willie Thomas was preceded in death by her 
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siblings, Julius and Louis Brady; and her daughter; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Willie Thomas is survived by her sons, George 
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Edward Ward Sr. and Eugene Powell Jr.; her seventeen 
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grandchildren; her forty-seven great-grandchildren; her seven 
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great-great-grandchildren; and a host of cousins and nephews; 
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therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE  SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL 
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ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with 
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her family and friends, the passing of Willie Thomas; and be it 
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further

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