Full Text of HR1281 98th General Assembly
HR1281 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate Vater Mae "Gran" Fite of | 4 | | Chicago on the occasion of her 100th birthday on September 28, | 5 | | 2014; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Vater Fite was born on September 28, 1914 in | 7 | | Carthage, Texas to the late Selma and Marvin
Conners, | 8 | | affectionately known as Big Momma and Big Daddy; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Vater Fite's only brother, Leon "Uncle Leon" | 10 | | Conners, is 96 years of age and lives in Maywood with his | 11 | | family; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Vater Fite's older sister, Herese
"Aunt B" | 13 | | Buckner, was a school teacher in the Chicago public schools and
| 14 | | a classically trained singer who spread her faith and talent | 15 | | throughout the world at the behest of the
Lutheran dioceses; | 16 | | Vater and Herese shared the same
birthday and lived as | 17 | | bachelorettes in Oak Park until the ages of 89 and 91
when, in | 18 | | 2008, Herese fell ill and passed away; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Vater Fite's younger sister, the late Inez "Auntie | 20 | | Inez" Jones, retired as school
teacher in their hometown and | 21 | | remained a lifelong resident of Carthage, Texas; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Vater Fite matriculated from Longview Elementary | 2 | | and Carthage High School (which only went
up to the 7th grade) | 3 | | in 1926; during this time, she attended Mount Zion Christian | 4 | | Methodist Episcopal Church where she sang in the choir and | 5 | | taught Sunday school; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Vater Fite's first marriage was to JC Lilly in | 7 | | 1929; like so many in the depression, Vater and JC migrated | 8 | | north; they eventually made their way to California, where | 9 | | Vater was trained as a welder in the shipyards and worked as a
| 10 | | welder during World War II; when the war ended and work became | 11 | | scarce, she returned to
her children in Texas; she divorced and | 12 | | later married Mr. Fite, to
whom she was happily and briefly | 13 | | married; upon his death, she joined her children and
siblings | 14 | | in Maywood; she later moved to the Westside of Chicago, where | 15 | | she was employed with the State of Illinois as a caregiver | 16 | | until her retirement in 1979; she temporarily returned to Texas | 17 | | to care for her aging mother; upon her mother's
death, Vater | 18 | | returned to Oak Park to live with her
sister and to be close to | 19 | | her son and family; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Vater Fite is an active participant in the senior | 21 | | community of Oak Park; she became an artist at
the age of 65 | 22 | | and has many of her paintings and sculptures
displayed | 23 | | throughout Oak Park and Chicago, as well as in the many homes |
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| 1 | | of her relatives
all over the United States; she taught
herself | 2 | | to play the violin at the age of 84; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Vater Fite is an avid reader and particularly a | 4 | | fan of murder mysteries and historical fiction; some of
her | 5 | | favorite things are a good piece of beef, watching countless | 6 | | hours of baseball,
the color blue, and her infamously loud and | 7 | | long discussions with her brother Leon on the phone; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Vater Fite is a sports enthusiast; though her | 9 | | first love is baseball, she has followed the exploits of her | 10 | | great-grandson, Evan Turner, on the basketball court and | 11 | | attended games
throughout the country during his collegiate and | 12 | | professional NBA career; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Vater Fite has travelled throughout the United | 14 | | States and, after obtaining her
passport at the tender age of | 15 | | 97, she became a literal globetrotter, traveling to various | 16 | | locales annually on the family vacation until deciding to
| 17 | | remain stateside this year; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Vater Fite's children are LeRoy Franklin | 19 | | (Barbara) Lilly (deceased), Vater Jo (Robert) Goodman | 20 | | (deceased), Billie
June (Felix) Neal (deceased), and Gloria | 21 | | Marves (deceased); and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Vater Fite's grandchildren are
Iris L. James, | 2 | | Darius F. Lilly (deceased), State Representative Camille Y. | 3 | | Lilly, Brian S. Lilly, Karen (Jasmyn)
Lilly, Jerome (Jerry) | 4 | | Goodman, Kevin (Jacqueline) Neal, and April (Vince)
Braggs; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Vater Fite's great-grandchildren are
Richard | 6 | | James, Darius Turner, Evan Turner, Briana Lilly, Vince Braggs | 7 | | Jr. (VJ), Briaja
Braggs, and Brian Shawn Lilly II; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Vater Fite is a living legacy and the pride and | 9 | | joy of
her family; therefore, be it
| 10 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 11 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 12 | | we congratulate Vater Mae "Gran" Fite as she becomes a | 13 | | centenarian and wish her many more wonderful years; and be it | 14 | | further
| 15 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 16 | | presented to Vater Fite as an expression of our esteem and | 17 | | respect.
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