Full Text of SR0456 101st General Assembly
SR0456 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | SR0456 | | LRB101 12623 MST 61085 r |
|
| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of Roberta "Bobbie" Raymond on May 7, 2019 | 4 | | at the age of 80; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Bobbie Raymond was born on November 16, 1938 in | 6 | | Oak Park to William and Rosemary Wolin; she was a lifelong | 7 | | resident of Oak Park and graduated from Oak Park and River | 8 | | Forest High School in 1955; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Bobbie Raymond worked as a child actor in Chicago | 10 | | from 1945 to 1952, later using the stage name Roberta Alden | 11 | | when she appeared in NBC Radio shows, Jack Armstrong, the | 12 | | All-American Boy, and Cricket on the Hearth; she also did | 13 | | commercials, trade shows, and television and had a lead role in | 14 | | the pre-Broadway cast of Tender Loving Care in 1960; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Bobbie Raymond studied sociology at Drake | 16 | | University, studied racial integration and the fair housing | 17 | | movement at Hunter College, and earned a master's degree with | 18 | | honors from Roosevelt University, where she wrote her sociology | 19 | | thesis on Oak Park and the challenge to achieving long-term | 20 | | racial diversity and integration; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, Bobbie Raymond was a foundational figure in Oak |
| | | SR0456 | - 2 - | LRB101 12623 MST 61085 r |
|
| 1 | | Park's long experiment in racial integration; she ultimately | 2 | | earned the reputation of being Oak Park's fiercest advocate, | 3 | | leaving behind an enormous legacy of activism and lifelong | 4 | | dedication to public service for the Oak Park community; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Bobbie Raymond is described as an agent of social | 6 | | change within Oak Park's wall of fame biography; she joined the | 7 | | Oak Park Citizens Committee for Human Rights as she began her | 8 | | activism in fair housing and then started the Oak Park Housing | 9 | | Center in 1972, a nonprofit focused on maintaining racial | 10 | | integration, where she served as executive director for 26 | 11 | | years until retiring in 1996; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Bobbie Raymond was featured in the documentary, As | 13 | | Time Goes By: Oak Park, Illinois, which premiered at the Lake | 14 | | Theatre in 1974 and was later shown on WTTW; she wrote the | 15 | | winning presentation script for Oak Park's All-America City | 16 | | Award in 1976, was featured on CBS 60 Minutes in 1978, and | 17 | | appeared on the last Phil Donahue Show; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Bobbie Raymond, as part of her work at the Housing | 19 | | Center, helped to found the influential Oak Park Exchange | 20 | | Congress, which gathered like-minded communities from around | 21 | | America to share best practices on integration efforts; she | 22 | | also helped to create Oak Park's A Day in Our Village community | 23 | | celebration, collaborated with the Austin Shock Historical |
| | | SR0456 | - 3 - | LRB101 12623 MST 61085 r |
|
| 1 | | Association to create a house walk in the Austin neighborhood, | 2 | | and organized the Boulevard Run, a 10K race running through Oak | 3 | | Park and Austin, including Columbus Park; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Bobbie Raymond, after her retirement from the | 5 | | Housing Center, served on the boards of the Oak Park | 6 | | Development Corporation, the Doris Humphrey Foundation, the | 7 | | Ernest Hemingway Foundation, and the Oak Park Art League; she | 8 | | pursued her many other interests, including painting, | 9 | | gardening, play writing, and traveling, including to Door | 10 | | County, Wisconsin; she was a longtime member of the Oak Park | 11 | | River Forest Garden Club, founded a French Club conversation | 12 | | class, and helped to found the First Tuesday Club, which | 13 | | brought independent and art films to the Lake Theatre; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Bobbie Raymond was instrumental in the rebirth of | 15 | | the Oak Park River Forest High School Alumni Association and | 16 | | took great pride in its efforts to fund life-changing summer | 17 | | learning and travel experiences for high school students who | 18 | | were unlikely to have such opportunities; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Bobbie Raymond was the originator of Oak Park's | 20 | | first paper recycling program and counted among her many honors | 21 | | are the Ulyssean, the Athena, the Eleanor Roosevelt | 22 | | Humanitarian, and the Studs Terkel Awards; and
|
| | | SR0456 | - 4 - | LRB101 12623 MST 61085 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, Bobbie Raymond was deeply devoted to her son, | 2 | | Charles, and loved spending time with her grandson, Trevor, | 3 | | making crepes together, playing scrabble, and sharing with him | 4 | | her love of the arts; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Bobbie Raymond is survived by her husband, Richard | 6 | | Gustavus Larson; her son, Charles D. Raymond and | 7 | | daughter-in-law, Christi Ausland-Raymond; her former husband, | 8 | | Geoffrey Raymond; and her grandson, Trevor William Raymond; | 9 | | therefore, be it
| 10 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 11 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 12 | | Roberta "Bobbie" Raymond and extend our sincere condolences to | 13 | | her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it | 14 | | further
| 15 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 16 | | presented to the family of Bobbie Raymond as an expression of | 17 | | our deepest sympathy.
|
|