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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 Roger E.
4Walker Jr., who passed away on March 10, 2012; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Roger Walker Jr. was born on February 7, 1949 in
6Brownsville, Tennessee; he was the son of Roger E. Walker Sr.
7and Ida (Currie) Walker Lake; he married Vergie Eubanks on
8August 28, 1971; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Roger Walker Jr. was educated in Decatur public
10schools and was a graduate of Richland Community College; he
11also had over 2,000 hours of law enforcement training; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Roger Walker Jr. served our country with pride and
13distinction as a member of the United States Navy; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Roger Walker Jr. began his distinguished law
15enforcement career in the Decatur area as a patrol officer with
16the Macon County Sheriff's Department in 1972; he steadily
17ascended the ranks at the department to become patrol sergeant,
18detective, and lieutenant; in 1998, he was elected to serve as
19the Sheriff of Macon County, being the first African-American
20sheriff in the State of Illinois; he sought re-election in 2002
21and ran unopposed; on May 1, 2003, he was appointed to serve as

 

 

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1the Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections by
2Governor Rod Blagojevich; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Roger Walker Jr. was a member of the Main Street
4Church of the Living God under the leadership of his brother,
5Overseer Thomas E. Walker; he was also a part of the church's
6music ministry, where he played the saxophone; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Roger Walker Jr. was a member of numerous
8community and professional organizations; he served as
9Vice-President of the National Organization of Black Law
10Enforcement Executives' Land of Lincoln Chapter and Decatur
11Chapter Frontiers International and was a member of the Black
12Chamber of Commerce, the NABCJ-Greater Illinois Area Chapter,
13the Illinois Sheriffs Association, the National Sheriffs
14Association, the Executive Board of Youth With A Positive
15Direction, the NAACP, Unit #99/FOP Lodge #144, the
16African-American Cultural and Genealogical Society of Illinois
17Inc., the State of Illinois Child Advocacy Board, the Illinois
18State Advisory Board/Fight Crime: Invest In Kids, and the
19Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Roger Walker Jr. was preceded in death by his
21wife; his father; his grandparents; and his aunts, uncles, and
22cousins; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Roger Walker Jr. is survived by his mother, Ida
2Walker Lake; his daughters, Robin Ketchens and Tammie (Rick)
3Shaw; his brothers, Overseer Thomas E. (Margaret) Walker,
4Arthur Lee (Terri) Walker, and Timothy Lake; his sister, Hilda
5Walker; his grandchildren, Courtney N. Lee, Daa'iyah Ketchens,
6and Marion Ketchens, Jr.; his fiancee, Debra Watson; his uncle,
7Horace (Dimple) Walker; his aunts, Mary Ann Boyd, Doris
8Lawrence, Jean (A.D.) Brooks, and Liz and Beulah Currie; his
9special sister, Diane Bond; his special brothers, Larry Bond
10and William Martin, Jr.; his special aunt, Mildred Taylor, and
11his many nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and his many
12friends at the Macon County Sheriff Department, the Illinois
13Department of Corrections, and the Decatur community;
14therefore, be it
 
15    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
16NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
17we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of
18Roger E. Walker Jr.; and be it further
 
19    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20presented to the family of Roger Walker Jr. as an expression of
21our sympathy.