HR0565LRB099 12679 MST 36408 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the passing of
4Lauranita Taylor Dugas on May 20, 2015; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Lauranita Dugas was born on December 2, 1926 in
6Chicago to Dorothy and Robert Rochon Taylor, who served as the
7first African-American chairman of the Chicago Housing
8Authority and was credited with establishing standards for
9public housing in Chicago and the nation; she was the
10granddaughter of the first African-American graduate of the
11Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the country's first
12academically trained African-American architect; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Lauranita Dugas graduated from what was then
14Parker High School in 1944; she subsequently studied at the
15University of Wisconsin at Madison, where she earned a
16bachelor's degree in sociology and met her future husband,
17Lester J. Dugas, Jr., whom she married in 1949 and shared a
18lifetime of civic engagement; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Lauranita Dugas carried on her family's legacy and
20work in education for the African-American community at the
21Head Start Program, the State of Illinois' Institute for
22Juvenile Research, and the Chicago Child Care Society, where

 

 

HR0565- 2 -LRB099 12679 MST 36408 r

1she served as a supervising teacher for 25 years until her
2retirement; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Lauranita Dugas served as a Chair of the
4Jones-Swift Scholarship fund as part of the Chicago
5Metropolitan Association for the Education of Young Children;
6she also served as a charter member of the Working in the
7Schools program for the Chicago Public Schools; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Lauranita Dugas was a member of the board of
9visitors for the University of Wisconsin School for Human
10Ecology, a founding member of the Museum of Science and
11Industry's Black Creativity Committee, active with the
12Leadership Advisory Committee at the Art Institute of Chicago,
13and the namesake of the Lauranita T. and Lester J. Dugas, Jr.
14Scholarship at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, through
15which scholarships are awarded to talented minority students
16with financial need; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Lauranita Dugas is remembered for being a teacher
18who believed early childhood education was the key to success;
19she was fully committed to seeing the whole child in the
20context of his or her family and community, and she had the
21uncanny ability to connect with children and help them feel
22comfortable with their own abilities; and
 

 

 

HR0565- 3 -LRB099 12679 MST 36408 r

1    WHEREAS, Lauranita Dugas was preceded in death by her
2beloved husband of 50 years, Lester Dugas, Jr.; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Lauranita Dugas is survived by her 3 children,
4Gail D. Dugas, Dr. Jeffrey A. Dugas, Sr. (Tina), and Lauren
5Dugas Glover (Kenneth); her 5 grandchildren, Andrea Dugas
6Douglas (Christopher), Jeffrey A. Dugas, Jr. (Nakeesha), Evan
7J. Glover, Jonathan T. Glover, and Taylor J. Dugas; her 3
8great-grandchildren, Jordan Douglas, Christopher Douglas, Jr.,
9and Sydney Douglas; her sister, Dr. Barbara Bowman; her 2
10sisters-in-law, Dolores Scurlock and Carolyn (John) Viera; and
11many nieces, nephews, cousins, godchildren, extended family,
12and countless friends across the United States, Europe, and
13Africa; therefore, be it
 
14    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
15NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
16we, along with her family, friends, colleagues, and those whose
17lives she touched, mourn the passing of Lauranita Dugas; and be
18it further
 
19    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20presented to the family of Lauranita Dugas as an expression of
21our deepest sympathies and respect.