Full Text of SR0751 97th General Assembly
SR0751 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | SR0751 | | LRB097 21403 KXB 69386 r |
|
| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of Joan Johnson-Blackwell of Lewistown, who | 4 | | passed away on April 2, 2012; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, She was born January 3, 1944, to John Sprague | 6 | | Stout and Nancy Jane Halstead Stout in Springfield; at a young | 7 | | age, she became attracted to poetry by Edgar Guest and the | 8 | | Edgar Lee Masters poem "Anne Rutledge"; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, She graduated from Glenwood High School in Chatham | 10 | | and from Western Illinois University in Macomb; she married | 11 | | Randle Ray Johnson on November 7, 1964, in Chatham; he passed | 12 | | away on June 22, 1986; she then married Robert B. Blackwell on | 13 | | September 1, 1989, in Lewistown; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, She taught gifted classes at Lewistown McNally | 15 | | School and she taught English, speech, and drama at Lewistown | 16 | | Community High School; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, She devoted her life to culture and tourism in | 18 | | Fulton County; she helped to organize the Fulton County Tourism | 19 | | Council and served 8 years as its secretary and then president; | 20 | | she was one of the driving forces behind the Spoon River Drive, | 21 | | helping organize and promote its activities; and
|
| | | SR0751 | - 2 - | LRB097 21403 KXB 69386 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, She enjoyed being a producer and reader for local | 2 | | performances of Masters poetry at Oak Hill Cemetery on Masters | 3 | | Day for 21 years and the Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive for | 4 | | over 20 years; she wrote poetry and free-lance feature articles | 5 | | especially on history, travel, collectibles, and Spoon River | 6 | | Scenic Drive folks and events; she was a publicist for Spoon | 7 | | River Valley Scenic Drive Associates for nearly 28 years; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, She enjoyed writing and taking photos for the | 9 | | Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive program books, cookbooks, and | 10 | | publicity; she served several terms as a director for the | 11 | | Fulton County Arts Council and volunteered at the Fulton-Mason | 12 | | Crisis Center and the Lewistown Food Pantry; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, She was a member of the Lewistown United Methodist | 14 | | Church, where she served as a Sunday School teacher, United | 15 | | Methodist lay speaker, historian, Ruth Circle member, and | 16 | | chairperson for the church's 175th anniversary; she also | 17 | | enjoyed reading, sewing, antiques, and traveling; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, She worked as a real estate broker/appraiser since | 19 | | 1975; she served as an officer of the Fulton County Board of | 20 | | Realtors and MLS and as a real estate instructor; she and her | 21 | | first husband formed Farm & Home Realty of Lewistown in 1975 | 22 | | and were members of the Lewistown Chamber of Commerce; she used |
| | | SR0751 | - 3 - | LRB097 21403 KXB 69386 r |
|
| 1 | | her appraisal experience and medical training as an Illinois | 2 | | disability adjudicator in Springfield; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, She was a past member of the Spoon River | 4 | | Professional Women and the Lewistown Eastern Star; she helped | 5 | | to organize the Spoon River Writer's Guild in 1970s; in | 6 | | retirement, she added a new circle of poet-friends in the | 7 | | Peoria Poetry Club and served as its president since 2006; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Joan Johnson-Blackwell is survived by her | 9 | | husband, Robert; her sisters, Phyllis Stout, Melissa Stout, and | 10 | | Janifer Day; her daughter, Jo Ellen Johnson; her son, Andrewe | 11 | | William (Stephanie) Johnson; her stepsons, Steve (Pam) | 12 | | Blackwell and Barry (Terresa) Blackwell; her grandchildren, | 13 | | Riley and Morgan Johnson; her grandcats, Big Ed, Shadow, | 14 | | Moonlight, and Culver; her step-grandchildren, Cara and | 15 | | Christopher Blackwell, Megan Blackwell, and Rob Blackwell; and | 16 | | several nieces and nephews; therefore, be it
| 17 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 18 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 19 | | her family and friends, the passing of Joan-Johnson-Blackwell; | 20 | | we celebrate her love of life and her boundless energy and | 21 | | enthusiasm; and be it further
| 22 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
| | | SR0751 | - 4 - | LRB097 21403 KXB 69386 r |
|
| 1 | | presented to the family of Joan Johnson-Blackwell as a symbol | 2 | | of our sincere sympathy.
|
|