HR0929 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0929 LRB098 20632 GRL 57145 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Jossie Pearl Johnson Wilson, who passed away on March 10, 2014; and

WHEREAS, Jossie Johnson Wilson was born on August 24, 1947 in Lambert, Mississippi; her parents were Osa and Marie (nee Stewart) Jones; and

WHEREAS, After completing her early primary education in Lambert, Mississippi, Jossie Johnson Wilson moved to Robbins in 1961 to live with her aunt, Bernice Barnes, who raised her as one of her own; she subsequently graduated from Dwight Eisenhower High School in 1965 and matriculated at the Worsham School of Mortuary Science before earning her Bachelor of Arts Degree at Governor's State University; she was inducted into the National Honor Society while in high school and was honored by Who's Who Among American Students in American Colleges and Universities for her scholastic ability and campus leadership; and

WHEREAS, In 1971, Jossie Johnson Wilson joined the United States Postal Service as a Mail Handler at the Chicago Bulk Mail Center in Forest Park; she was subsequently promoted to the position of Clerk at the Postal Facility in Bedford Park before returning to Forest Park, where she served as the accounting clerk for 5 years; from 1979 to 1986, she served the Postal Service as the Supervisor of Mails in Forest Park; she was later promoted to various leadership positions within the Postal Service, including Material Management Specialist, Labor Relations Assistant, and Manager of Mail Processing; in 1993, she returned to her beloved Village of Robbins as Postmaster, where she spent the last decade of her 32-year career with the United States Postal Service; and

WHEREAS, Jossie Johnson Wilson was a faithful member of New Friendship Missionary Baptist Church for almost 4 decades; she served as a member of the Senior Choir, the Willing Workers, and Sunday school teacher; after retiring to Jacksonville, Florida, she continued in fellowship and service to her God at the Philip R. Cousins African Methodist Episcopal Church, where she was pastored by the Rev. Eugene E. Moseley, Jr.; while there, she grew increasingly active as a member of the Senior Choir and as a leader in the Women's Ministry; and

WHEREAS, Jossie Johnson Wilson was preceded in death by her daughter, Tanya Johnson Neal; her granddaughter, Jasmyne Shepard; and her sisters, Marie Jelks and Eunice Jones; and

WHEREAS, Jossie Johnson Wilson is survived by her husband, Samuel Wilson; her daughter, Yolanda Shepard (Jeffery, Sr.); her sons, Kenneth Allen Johnson, Jr. (Kim) and Titus Johnson; her grandchildren, Jeffery Shepard, Jr., Derrick, Derion, and Deondre Watts, Joshua and Joi Johnson, Tierra Neal, Tanya Johnson, and Mariah Johnson; her former spouse, Kenneth A. Johnson, Sr.; her siblings, Mary Alice (Jones) Wimberly, Ophelia Davis (Fred), Bernice Warren (Robert), Buelah Howard, Hoover Darden (Dorinda), Herbert Darden, Ella Holt (Tony), Jacqueline Cunningham (Travis), Charles Darden (Paula), Terrell Darden, Cornell Darden (Maria), Theodore Darden (Stacie), Kevin Darden, and Keith Darden; her father, Osa Jones; and her paternal siblings, Lacey Riley, Ellen Jones, Linda Jones, Joyce Jones, Osa Jones, Jr., Edward Jones, Tony Jones, Donnell Jones, Cynthia Jones, and Tomeka Jones; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with her family and friends, mourn the passing of Jossie Pearl Johnson Wilson; and be it further

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