Full Text of SR0474 95th General Assembly
SR0474 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 |
| learn of the death of
Anna Belle Gravenberg Worrill, who passed | 4 |
| away on December 8, 2007; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna Belle Gravenberg Worrill was born on May 9, | 6 |
| 1919 in Jeanerette, Louisiana; her parents were August and | 7 |
| Lilly Gravenberg; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna Belle Gravenberg Worrill lived with her older | 9 |
| sister, Minola, in a Catholic convent after a pneumonia | 10 |
| epidemic took the lives of her parents in 1920; in the early | 11 |
| 1920's, she, along with her sister and their older brother | 12 |
| Conrad, moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to live with their Aunt | 13 |
| Maggie Matthews; and
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| WHEREAS, In the early 1930's, Anna Belle Gravenberg Worrill | 15 |
| moved to Los Angeles, California with her sister and brother, | 16 |
| attending public school while living with Conrad and his wife; | 17 |
| she later moved to Pasadena, California with Lillian Piersaul | 18 |
| and her husband, where she attended Washington Junior High | 19 |
| School and Pasadena High School; and
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| WHEREAS, While attending school in Pasadena, Anna Belle | 21 |
| Gravenberg Worrill began to receive ballet and vocal training, |
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| later attending Pasadena Junior College to further hone her | 2 |
| craft; her incredible vocal skills were first showcased at the | 3 |
| First A.M.E. Church in Pasadena, where she was often selected | 4 |
| to perform solo; during her time at First A.M.E. Church, she | 5 |
| met fellow church choir member Walter Worrill, whom she married | 6 |
| in September of 1940; their first son, Conrad Walter Worrill, | 7 |
| was born to them on August 15, 1941; her passion for helping | 8 |
| children led her to a position as a teacher at the Pacific Oaks | 9 |
| Nursery School in Pasadena; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna Belle Gravenberg Worrill's musical talents | 11 |
| reached further heights in 1946, when she had the honor of | 12 |
| singing at the wedding of baseball legend Jackie Robinson; in | 13 |
| the late 1940's, she became a member of the Pasadena Civic | 14 |
| Chorus, performing in major concerts throughout the city with | 15 |
| the renowned group; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna Belle Gravenberg Worrill assisted her | 17 |
| husband in his work with the YMCA Movement during the 1940's; | 18 |
| in 1950, the YMCA transferred Walter to Chicago; having | 19 |
| difficulties finding suitable housing, the family resided at | 20 |
| the YMCA Hotel in Chicago until a kindly waiter, known as Mr. | 21 |
| Anthony, allowed the family to lease an apartment he owned at | 22 |
| 5640 South Maryland in Chicago; on April 29, 1951, a second | 23 |
| son, Oscar William Worrill, was born to Anna Belle and Walter; | 24 |
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| WHEREAS, Once the family was settled into Chicago, Anna | 2 |
| Belle Gravenberg Worrill quickly became involved with the choir | 3 |
| at St. Mark's Methodist Church, where she was instrumental in | 4 |
| the organization of the church's Handel's Messiah concert, a | 5 |
| concert that is still performed by the church today; she also | 6 |
| became a member of the Chicago Music Association and became the | 7 |
| protege of the late Theodore Charles Stone; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, Anna Belle Gravenberg Worrill was made a lifetime | 9 |
| member of the National Parent Teacher Association in honor of | 10 |
| her participation at the schools her two children attended; she | 11 |
| developed an excellent reputation as an aggressive advocate for | 12 |
| both her children and school children in general, ensuring that | 13 |
| the children received everything that they needed to prosper; | 14 |
| she eventually accepted a position as an administrative clerk | 15 |
| in the Bursar's Office at the University of Chicago, where she | 16 |
| worked faithfully for over 15 years; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1957, Anna Belle Gravenberg Worrill and her | 18 |
| family purchased a home at 8450 South Prairie in Chicago's | 19 |
| Chatham neighborhood; she quickly became well known for her | 20 |
| neighborly presence, concern for those in the community, and | 21 |
| vociferous support for African-American owned businesses; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1970, Walter Worrill accepted a new position |
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| with the YMCA, leading Anna Belle Gravenberg Worrill and her | 2 |
| husband to Pennlyn, Pennsylvania; returning to her Catholic | 3 |
| faith, Anna Belle attended a local Catholic church in Pennlyn; | 4 |
| after their divorce in the late 1970's, Anna Belle remained in | 5 |
| Pennlyn and accepted a position at a local nursing home; and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, In 1989, Anna Belle Gravenberg Worrill moved back | 7 |
| to Chicago in order to be closer to her family and friends; she | 8 |
| went on to reside in the Renaissance Senior Citizen Residence | 9 |
| in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood, where she lived until | 10 |
| her unfortunate passing; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna Belle Gravenberg Worrill is survived by her | 12 |
| sister, Minola; her sons, Conrad (Talibah) and Oscar (Denise); | 13 |
| her former husband, Walter; her grandchildren, Michelle, Femi, | 14 |
| Sobenna, Kimberly Aisha, and Gloria Ann; her 8 | 15 |
| great-grandchildren; and her many in-laws, nieces, nephews, | 16 |
| cousins, and friends; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | 18 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 19 |
| her family and friends, the passing of Anna Belle Gravenberg | 20 |
| Worrill; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 22 |
| presented to the family of Anna Belle Gravenberg Worrill as an |
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| expression of our sympathy.
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