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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Dr.
4Carrie Louise Filer Ellis Davis; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Dr. Davis was born 91 years ago in Marianna,
6Arkansas to Vera and Squire Filer; she attended Moten
7Elementary and was a member of St. Luke African Methodist
8Episcopal Church; she was valedictorian of her high school
9class at Robert Moten High School and graduated cum laude from
10Arkansas AM & N (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff),
11where she joined her beloved Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority,
12Incorporated; while at Arkansas AM & N, she was an accomplished
13member of the basketball team and was entrusted to work in the
14President's office; she had the distinguished honor of being
15the first, and for a time, the only female on the university's
16winning varsity debate team; she was the winner of the Scipio
17A. Jones Oratorical Contest and won the Outstanding Actress
18Award; she was crowned both "Miss Omega" of Omega Psi Phi
19Fraternity, Incorporated and "Miss Arkansas State" Campus
20Queen; after attending Arkansas AM & N, she attended
21Northwestern University and Northeastern University, where she
22received her Master of Arts; she earned her doctoral degree
23from the University of Sarasota, where she graduated with
24honors; she later taught other doctoral candidates and was a

 

 

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1member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Sarasota;
2and
 
3    WHEREAS, Dr. Davis taught at Robert Moten High School in
4Marianna, Arkansas for 7 years; she was the first classroom
5teacher to ever deliver the Keynote Address at the State of
6Arkansas Teachers' Meeting at the capitol in Little Rock; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Dr. Davis left Arkansas for Chicago, she became a
8member of Greater Institutional AME Church for a few years, but
9the historic Quinn Chapel AME Church was her church home for
10over 50 years; she was the co-director and a teacher at Crest
11Modeling/Talent Agency for 4 years and was a certified teacher
12of Speech, Drama, and English and a high school counselor at
13Englewood High School; she served as coordinator of Human
14Relations, Instructional Services, and as an Administrator in
15Districts 27 and 19 for the Chicago Board of Education; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Dr. Davis designed and coordinated numerous
17programs for her school districts, including the Communication
18Arts Festival involving Chicago Public School students
19competing in oral interpretation, public speaking and drama,
20the Deb Tea for Talent - a talent competition in the district
21elementary schools, the Great Debates-skill building/thinking
22for high school students, Spellarama - a Spelling Bee conducted
23for elementary school students, the Academic Showdown - a

 

 

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1knowledge-based contest similar to Jeopardy, and an annual
2essay contest for Chicago elementary and high school students;
3these creations became extremely successful under her tutelage
4and some developed into city-wide activities and contests open
5to all Chicago Public School students; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Dr. Davis was also a private drama coach for
7students and adults wishing to improve their public speaking
8skills for competition or career enhancement; she was the
9designer, writer, and teacher of the course for Chicago
10teachers in speech, drama, music, dance, reading, and classroom
11management; she as a poet and the author of "Carrie's Vignette" -
12 a newsletter and she co-authored the "Drama Curriculum Guide"
13for the high schools of Chicago and the Proficiency Skills
14Course-Language Arts Portion for the Chicago Board of
15Education; she was the Executive Producer, co-host, and script
16writer for FOCUS ON YOUTH, a WLNR radio show; the City of
17Chicago Board of Education awarded her Outstanding Drama
18Director and Teacher of the Year; after retiring from the
19Chicago Board of Education, she returned as an educational
20consultant on the Probation Team for Troubled Schools; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Dr. Davis continuously reached out to make this
22world a better place with her civic activities; she served as
23Chairman of United Charities Calumet Family Center Advisory
24Committee, as President of the Roseland Community Hospital

 

 

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1Auxiliary, as Committee Chairperson for Afro-American Family
2and Community Services Development, as member of the White
3House Conference for Youth, as member of the Good Citizenship
4Club, as board member of the Altgeld Urban Program Center, as
5board member of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and was a
6delegate for the General Conference of the AME Church and Quinn
7Chapel; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Dr. Davis was a Legendary Soror and Leader of
9Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated; she chartered the Alpha
10Chi Chapter at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in
111948, served as Basileus of Delta Sigma Chapter in Chicago, was
12Central Region Campus Coordinator, served as the 11th Central
13Region Syntaktes from 1974 to 1978, was elected Grand
14Epistoleus from 1980 to 1984, was a National Board Member, Dean
15of Pledgees, and Chairperson of the following committees:
16Debutante Tea, Miss Black Teenage Pageant, National
17Scholarship, Regional Scholarship and Nominating Committee;
18her public speaking passion was further realized through the
19Kaleidoscope of the Arts - a talent search involving Sigma
20Gamma Rho Sorority's high school Rhoers and college Sigma women
21competing for trophies in speech, drama, and dance; as Grand
22Epistoleus, she authored IN TOUCH, a newsletter to all Sorors
23and WRITE ON, a publication containing Media Hints for
24Epistolei; her originated the "Mother-Daughter Gallery" which
25spotlighted daughters who followed their mother's legacy into

 

 

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1Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority; she was a founding member of Eta Xi
2Sigma Chapter in Oak Lawn; devotion to Sigma is a family affair
3as her's sister Vivian and all 3 of her daughters are members
4of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated; and
 
5    WHEREAS, On November 18, 1978, Dr. Davis journeyed with
6others to Chicago to help charter the second chapter of the
7National Women of Achievement, Incorporated (NWOA); she became
8the first President of the Chicago Chapter; under her
9leadership, membership increased from 5 to 35, in a relatively
10short time; she worked tirelessly to continue the promulgation
11of progress for growth of the organization; she initiated the
12NWOA Pageant that focuses on outstanding Achievers, organized
13the "GEMS", a youth group later named Youth Achievers, and
14organized the oratorical contest for youth; in 1985, she became
15the Second National President of NWOA; the numbers of chapters
16of NWOA more than doubled under her leadership; she enhanced
17the financial status of the national coffers through contests
18among chapters, focusing on the outstanding Presidents; her
19innovations were youth competitions in debates, public
20speaking, and oral interpretation; young ladies and men won
21financial rewards for outstanding performances; leadership
22seminars were devised for officers and members of local
23chapters and thousands of dollars were given to worthy students
24as grants and scholarship to provide avenues for further study;
25numerous achievers and community leaders were given awards

 

 

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1through the Profiles of Prominence Ceremony each year; she
2designed a replica of NWOA'S gem stone into a beautiful award
3for these recipients; additionally, she established the
4Achiever Carrie Filer Davis Award to be presented to the
5Regional Director who had excelled during the 2 year period
6leading up to CON WOA, the National Convention; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Dr. Davis's numerous honors and recognitions
8include: being honored by Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton in
9Recognition for Distinguished Accomplishments and Excellence
10in Education; the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. 80th
11Anniversary Pearl Award; the United Charities 20 Years of
12Service Award; Mayor Daley's City of Chicago Senior Citizen
13Hall of Fame; the National Women of Achievement, Inc. Hall of
14Fame Award; National Women of Achievement, Inc.-Youth Activity
15of the Year; Outstanding Service to Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority,
16Inc. Delta Sigma; Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.-Bicentennial
17Festival; the Roseland Community Hospital Community Award; the
18En Verite Progressive Charity Club-Progressive Black Women's
19Award; the National Women of Achievement, Inc.-"The Diamond
20Award"; the National Award for Outstanding Dramatic
21Contribution to the Field of Speech and Drama-the Vivian Tate
22Hegwood Award; Altgeld CSC Advisory Council Award for
23Outstanding and Dedicated Service; University of Sarasota Hall
24of Fame Award; the Roseland Community Hospital Commitment to
25Volunteerism Award; the Project Reassurance Award; the Sigma

 

 

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1Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Psi Sigma Chapter-Community
2Service/Founder's Day Award; the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.
3Gamma Pi Sigma-Recognition of Support Award; the National Women
4of Achievement, Inc.-Second Annual Profiles of Prominence
5Award; Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Eta Xi Sigma-In
6Appreciation of Dedicated Service, Leadership, and Commitment;
7the Moton Hall of Fame Award; the Lamplighters Club of Greater
8Institutional A.M.E. Church-Outstanding Qualities of Humility,
9Loyalty, Spiritual Dedication, High Academic Pursuits, and
10Unselfish Devotion; Calumet Advisory Committee-Sincere
11Appreciation for Years of Service and Many Contributions; Sigma
12Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Rho Sigma Chapter's Founders' Day
13Luncheon-Outstanding and Dedicated Service to the Sorority and
14to the Community; Who's Who in Black America; Sigma Gamma Rho
15Sorority, Inc. Delta Sigma Chapter-In Appreciation for
16Dedication and Services to the Central Region as Regional
17Syntaktes; Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Delta Sigma
18Chapter-In Appreciation for Dedicated Service as Basileus; the
19Humanitarian Award in Education for the establishment of a
20school in honor of her mother, Vera Burchett Filer, an educator
21for over 35 Years; the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Delta
22Sigma Chapter-Black History Month Recognition Award; Service
23to Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.; Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority,
24Inc. Eta Xi Sigma Chapter Basileus Thweatt-Pippion Thank You
25for Special Efforts and Continued Support; the University of
26Sarasota Campus Dedication Award; National Women of

 

 

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1Achievement, Inc. Houston Cluster Chapters In Appreciation for
2Dedicated and Loyal Service, Seventh Anniversary CON-WOA; the
3Chicago Public Schools Local School Council Inaugural Award;
4National Women of Achievement, Inc.-In Appreciation for
5Service as Midwest Regional Director; LeMoyne-Owen College
6Alumni Association, Chicago Chapter In Grateful Appreciation;
7National Women of Achievement, Inc. First National President's
8Award-In Recognition of Outstanding Achievement in Education,
9Speech Arts, and Community Service; the UNCF School
10Campaign-Recognition Award for Outstanding Service; the Sigma
11Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Hall of Fame Award; Sub-District 9
12Council-In Recognition of Excellence as Parliamentarian;
13National Women of Achievement, Inc.-Life Member Award; the
14National Woman of Achievement, Inc. Chicago
15Chapter-Outstanding Service Award; the Outstanding Service to
16the Community-Human Services Award; the National Women of
17Achievement, Inc. Manderline Scales Scholarship Award, 17th
18Biennial CON-WOA; the Outstanding Administrator Award from the
19State of Illinois for Those Who Excel in Administration;
20National Women of Achievement, Inc. 10th Biennial CON-WOA-In
21Appreciation of Outstanding Service; the National Women of
22Achievement, Inc. Chicago Chapter-Wind Beneath Our Wings
23Achiever Award; and the National Women of Achievement, Inc.
2413th Biennial CON-WOA Coordinators Award; and
 
25    WHEREAS, Dr. Davis was preceded in death by her parents;

 

 

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1her sister, Bessie Filer Edwards; her sister, Gayle Filer
2Manley; and her brother, Macy Dean Filer; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Dr. Davis is survived by her daughters, Norma
4Louise Ellis Olya Bush, Helen Davis Gardner, M.D., and Gina
5Renee Davis, Esq.; her sister, Vivian Filer Branton; her
6sister-in-law, Blondell Burson Filer; her grandchildren,
7Taurin Ellis Penn (Corey), Walter Forrest Bush, IV (Sandy),
8Tiffany Latrice Renea Ellis, Kossie Gardner III, and Najee
9Squire Gino Olya; her great-grandchildren, Sarah Penn-Cox,
10Sydney Penn, and Javion and Asia Bush; her
11great-great-grandchildren, London Marie and Paris Simone Cox;
12her very special niece, Tamera Thompson Fair; her children in
13her heart, Art Norman, JoAnne Hawkins White, Lynn A. Norment,
14Donald K. Johnson, and Deborah A. Rountree; her nieces and
15nephews around the country; Sorors; Achievers; former
16students; and friends all over the world; therefore, be it
 
17    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
18NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
19mourn the passing of Dr. Carrie Louise Filer Ellis Davis, and
20extend our sincere condolences to her family, friends, and all
21who knew and loved her; and be it further
 
22    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
23presented to the family of Dr. Davis as an expression of our

 

 

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1deepest sympathy.