Full Text of SR0483 101st General Assembly
SR0483 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of Sylvia Dawn Jones Walton-Alston, who | 4 | | passed away on May 24, 2019; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston was born in Chicago on August | 6 | | 30, 1944 and raised by her parents, Rivers and Alma Jones, and | 7 | | her stepfather, John Powell; she attended Forrestville | 8 | | Elementary
School and graduated from Jean Baptiste Pointe | 9 | | DuSable High School in 1962, the first high school built for | 10 | | African Americans
in the City of Chicago; she then attended Los | 11 | | Angeles Community College; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston returned to Chicago and | 13 | | spent 34 years inspiring learners and leaders; she worked as | 14 | | the assistant
librarian at Dunbar Vocational, Richards, and | 15 | | Spaulding high schools and then spent most of her
career as the | 16 | | assistant librarian at DuSable High School; she retired in 2004 | 17 | | but continued volunteering at the school, often driving | 18 | | graduating seniors to college when they had no other means
of | 19 | | getting there; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston married and later divorced | 21 | | Leo Walton and then married the love of her life, Wilmer Perry
| 22 | | Alston, on March 15, 1969; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston was a member of St. Elizabeth | 2 | | Catholic Church, the oldest Black Catholic parish in Chicago; | 3 | | she served as a member and president
of the Parish Council; she | 4 | | organized clothing drives and dress sales, the food pantry,
| 5 | | Breakfast with Santa, and the church bazaar; she became known | 6 | | for arranging fundraising trips to local casinos; she led the | 7 | | charge to build a new church in 1987 after the old building
was | 8 | | destroyed by fire in 1930 and the congregation had spent 57 | 9 | | years worshipping in the church's gymnasium; she was recognized | 10 | | by Pope John Paul II and was named an honorary Nun of the
| 11 | | Blessed Sacrament; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston enjoyed attending functions | 13 | | with family and friends, dressing up and going out, and staying | 14 | | current on the latest technology; she was a member of the | 15 | | Forrestville Block Club and the Coalition to Save DuSable; she | 16 | | also advocated to save St. Elizabeth Catholic School, where one | 17 | | of her daughters and
most of her grandchildren attended; she | 18 | | was a longtime member and the corresponding secretary of the
| 19 | | DuSable Alumni Coalition and a top fundraiser for the United | 20 | | Negro College Fund; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston was preceded in death by her | 22 | | parents; her stepfather; her daughter, Kellie; and her husband, | 23 | | Wilmer Perry Alston; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston is survived by her sister, | 2 | | Nicolette Jones-Turner; her daughters, Brandie (Earl)
and | 3 | | Courtney (Marvis); her stepdaughter, Wilma Theresa (Robert) | 4 | | Thorn; her grandchildren, Brandon and Elizabeth
Miller, Ashley | 5 | | Patton, Kourtney and Dakota Alston, Alston Wilson, Shanell | 6 | | McMoris, Mark Lowe, Olivia
Morris, and Romel, Rashun, Cassiana, | 7 | | and Ratisha Cotton; her special nieces, Divina Alston, Valerie | 8 | | Hunter, and Verlane
Franklin; her special nephews, Walter Lee | 9 | | Turner and Emmery Burnette; her great-grandchildren, Madison | 10 | | Washington
and Varnell Cotton; and numerous other family | 11 | | members, her neighborhood family, her DuSable family, and her | 12 | | church
family; therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 14 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 15 | | Sylvia Dawn Jones Walton-Alston and extend our sincere | 16 | | condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved | 17 | | her; and be it further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 19 | | presented to the family of Sylvia Walton-Alston as an | 20 | | expression of our deepest sympathy.
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