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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 Rev. Dr.
4J.C. Smith, who passed away on October 12, 2016; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Rev. Smith was born in Porters, Alabama to J.C.
6Sr. and Eliza (Hampton) Smith on July 8, 1930; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Rev. Smith moved to Montgomery, Alabama at the age
8of 18 and began working for the Atlas Glass Company; he
9enlisted in the United States Army in 1951, where he served two
10years during the Korean War and was stationed in Okinawa,
11Japan; he returned to Montgomery after the war and married
12Willie Mae Myricks on June 3, 1956; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Rev. Smith was active in the civil rights movement
14of the 1950s and 1960s; he and his wife took part in the
15Montgomery Bus Boycott; he was arrested in 1956 for his
16participation alongside Ralph Abernathy, Rosa Parks, and
17Martin Luther King Jr.; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Rev. Smith graduated from Weaver's School of Real
19Estate in Montgomery in 1958; from 1958 to 1962 he sold
20insurance for the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company,
21which was the largest company owned and operated by African

 

 

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1Americans for most of the 20th century; he owned and operated
2Smith's Clothing Store; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Rev. Smith moved to Harvey in 1963 near the end of
4the Great Migration; he became a licensed real estate salesman
5and a journeyman carpenter; he joined Second Baptist Church in
6Harvey and delivered his first sermon in November of 1964; he
7continued his education and his political and civic
8involvement; between 1966 and 1973, he participated in
9Operation Breadbasket and was elected to the West Harvey School
10District #147 board, where he served for 40 years; he graduated
11from CBI with a bachelor's degree in theology; he started
12Smith's Carpentry and founded Bethlehem Temple Missionary
13Baptist Church; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Rev. Smith served as a delegate to the Democratic
15National Convention in August of 2000; he served two years as
16Vice-President of the National Caucus of Black School Board
17Members from 1980 to 1982; and
 
18    WHEREAS, From the early 1980s, Rev. Smith was active with
19the Progressive National Baptist Convention, where he served as
20President of the Moderator's Council from 1992 to 1996; he
21served in leadership roles in the Progressive Baptist State
22Congress, the South Suburban Minister's Fellowship, and many
23other associations; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Over the years, Rev. Smith helped to grow
2Bethlehem Temple Missionary Baptist church; he was involved in
3every aspect of the church, including the cleaning; in 1995, he
4organized the Bethlehem Community Development Corporation,
5where he served as Executive Director; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Rev. Smith was preceded in death by his parents;
7and
 
8    WHEREAS, Rev. Smith is survived by his wife of 60 years,
9Willie; his brother, Thomas Smith; his children, Jennifer
10(Euclid) Strayhorn, Jonathan (Rochelle) Smith, Jeffery
11(Heather) Smith, Jerrold (Crystal) Smith, and Jacques (Carly)
12Smith; his grandchildren, Cortney Strayhorn, Tenecia
13Strayhorn, Justin Strayhorn, Chelsea Strayhorn, Chauncey Sims,
14Darrin Sims, Lauren Smith, Brooke Helburn, Rachel Smith, Mariah
15Smith, Austin Smith, Amber Smith, Avery Smith, Amaris Smith,
16Joslyn Smith, Jarrett Smith, and Caymen J.C. Smith; his
17great-grandchildren, Eliya and Emmanuel Strayhorn; and a host
18of cousins, nieces, and nephews; therefore, be it
 
19    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
20NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
21mourn the passing of Rev. Dr. J.C. Smith, and extend our
22sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew

 

 

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1and loved him; and be it further
 
2    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
3presented to the family of Rev. Smith as an expression of our
4deepest sympathy.