Full Text of HR0560 94th General Assembly
HR0560 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives were deeply saddened to learn of the death of | 4 |
| George Turk of Chicago on June 19, 2005; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Turk was born December 24, 1931, in | 6 |
| Birmingham, Alabama, to Theodore Turk and Olivia Brewster; and
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| WHEREAS, After spending his early childhood in Alabama, he | 8 |
| moved to Chicago and was raised by Walter and Olivia (Brewster) | 9 |
| Casey; he attended elementary school at Douglas and Wendell | 10 |
| Phillips and graduated from Dunbar High School, where he was an | 11 |
| outstanding student athlete and joined the National Guard; and
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| WHEREAS, He attended Wilson Junior College and continued | 13 |
| his education at Chicago Teacher's College, where he graduated | 14 |
| with a bachelor's degree in 1955; he later attended DePaul | 15 |
| University and graduated in 1972 with a master's degree in | 16 |
| education; he was drafted into the Army in 1955 and served in | 17 |
| Germany for two years before being honorably discharged with | 18 |
| the rank of Sergeant; and
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| WHEREAS, He married Mary Louise Scott on December 28, 1955, | 20 |
| and they had two sons, George Wilkes and Jonathan George; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Turk was an educator by profession and began | 22 |
| teaching in the Chicago Public School system as a substitute in | 23 |
| 1955; he later taught full-time in a number of schools, | 24 |
| including Shakespeare, Herzl, and Shoop; he was appointed | 25 |
| assistant principal of the Jenner School; in 1975, he was named | 26 |
| principal of Fernwood Elementary School where he served with | 27 |
| distinction until his retirement in 1992; and
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| WHEREAS, During his time as a principal, he dedicated | 29 |
| himself to developing, training, and supporting black |
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| principals through the Samuel B. Stratton Association; he | 2 |
| served as the president of this organization of black | 3 |
| principals for many years; and
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| WHEREAS, After retiring from the Chicago Public School | 5 |
| system, he helped to establish the Developing Communities | 6 |
| Project Adult Literacy Program of Maple Park and became a | 7 |
| leading sales representative for the Globe Fearon Company; and
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| WHEREAS, He was an accomplished tenor and choir director | 9 |
| whose musical talents blossomed as choir director at Greater | 10 |
| Institutional A.M.E. Church; in 1962, he became one of the | 11 |
| charter members of the Maple Park United Methodist Church and | 12 |
| served as Minister of Music for over 30 years; he worked in the | 13 |
| church in many capacities over the years, serving as chairman | 14 |
| of the Pastor/Parish Relations Committee, president of the | 15 |
| United Methodist Men, and chairman of the Administrative Board; | 16 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, He loved people and tremendously treasured the | 18 |
| life he was blessed to lead; in addition to singing in a number | 19 |
| of choirs throughout Chicago, he enjoyed all types of musical | 20 |
| artists, from Howlin' Wolf to Pavarotti, and always seemed to | 21 |
| have a song in his heart; he was an avid bowler and was an | 22 |
| enthusiastic member of the Maple Park Homeowners League and the | 23 |
| Pilgrim Baptist Church League for many years; he also loved to | 24 |
| cook for family and friends and to laugh and play cards with | 25 |
| his buddies for hours on end; he had great affection for the | 26 |
| Maple Park neighborhood and was one of the early presidents of | 27 |
| the Maple Park Homeowners Association; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Turk led an exemplary life and because of his | 29 |
| remarkable journey was asked to provide his perspective in the | 30 |
| PBS documentary entitled "Remembering Chicago"; he will be | 31 |
| remembered as a loving husband, father, brother, relative, and | 32 |
| friend; and
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| WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his mother, Olivia; | 2 |
| his father, Theodore; his stepfather, Walter Casey; and his | 3 |
| sisters, Doris and Janice; and
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| WHEREAS, The passing of George Turk is felt by all who knew | 5 |
| and loved him, especially his wife of nearly 50 years, Mary | 6 |
| Louise; his sons, George Wilkes (Melinda) and Jonathan George | 7 |
| (Sherri); his grandsons, Morgan, Tyler, Joshua, and Mathew; his | 8 |
| granddaughter, Olivia; his brother, Theodore; his sister, | 9 |
| Loretta; his mother-in-law, Mary Scott; and a host of relatives | 10 |
| and friends; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 12 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 13 |
| we mourn the passing of George Turk and extend to his family | 14 |
| and friends our thoughts and prayers during this difficult | 15 |
| time; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 17 |
| presented to his family as an expression of our deepest | 18 |
| sympathy.
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