State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_HR0103

 
                                               LRB9208367RHrh

 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS,  The  members   of   the   Illinois   House   of
 3    Representatives  wish to express their sincere condolences to
 4    the family and friends of Dr. Mercedier C. deFreitas Goodwin,
 5    who passed away on February 15, 2001; and

 6        WHEREAS, Dr. Goodwin  was  born  on  August  9,  1922  in
 7    Chicago,  Illinois,  to  doctors  Clement  M. and Bernyece N.
 8    deFreitas; she was the widow of the former City Civil Service
 9    Commissioner and former State Representative,  Atty.  Quentin
10    J. Goodwin; and

11        WHEREAS,   Dr.  Goodwin  graduated  from  Englewood  High
12    School; she earned her  degree  from  Lincoln  University  in
13    1944,  received  a  Master of Art's from DePaul University in
14    1961 and a doctorate  in  Education  from  Northern  Illinois
15    University  in  1974; she completed subsequent studies at the
16    John F. Kennedy School of Government and  Harvard  University
17    in 1976; and

18        WHEREAS,  After completing her volunteer service with the
19    Red Cross in Germany at the end of World War II, Dr.  Goodwin
20    returned  to Chicago and taught at several elementary schools
21    before becoming an instructor in education  at  Central  YMCA
22    Community  College  and at Illinois Teachers College in 1961;
23    she later became the Director of Special  Education  for  the
24    Summit  District  with  subsequent principalships at Garfield
25    School in Blue Island and Walker School in Bedford Park;  she
26    was later appointed to the Illinois State Board of Education,
27    where  she  authored  several papers on public education; and
28    she served as project manager during the local  campaigns  of
29    the  United Negro College Fund in years 1998, 1999, and 2000;
30    and

31        WHEREAS, In  1975,  Dr.  Goodwin  was  appointed  to  the
32    position  of  Deputy Director of the Office of Employment and
 
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 1    Training under Mayor Richard J. Daley; due to her involvement
 2    in health issues, she served as the Special Assistant to  the
 3    Commissioner  of  the  city's  Department  of Health/Board of
 4    Health in 1981; she  later  served  as  Secretary  and  Board
 5    Member  of  the  Midwest Association of Sickle Cell Anemia, a
 6    disease which one one her uncles researched for more than  30
 7    years;  she  was  also  a  member  of  the Community Advisory
 8    Council of the University  of  Illinois  at  Chicago  Medical
 9    Center  where  she served as Chairperson, and Early Outreach,
10    an Urban Health Program at the same Center; and

11        WHEREAS,  In  1990,  Dr.  Goodwin  directed  the  Chicago
12    Department of Transportation's Community Service  Program  as
13    Assistant  Commissioner,  a role in which she represented the
14    City  of  Chicago  at  several  trade   shows,   conventions,
15    neighborhood  events, and at meetings of local councils; some
16    proud accomplishments that were a result of her efforts  were
17    the installation of globular lanterns along Lake Shore Drive,
18    and  the  department's  determination  to  open  the contract
19    awards  process  to  more  competitors,  especially  minority
20    contractors; and

21        WHEREAS,  Dr.  Goodwin  received  many  distinctions  and
22    awards during her outstanding career, and  they  include  the
23    City's  Kathy  Osterman  Outstanding Executive Award in 2000,
24    her induction into Pi Lambda Theta  (National  Honor  Society
25    for  Doctoral  Women),  International  Women  in Government's
26    Woman of the Year, and a listing  in  Cambridge  University's
27    International  Who's  Who  of Intellectuals; she was one of a
28    limited number of panelists/presenters in Nairobi, Kenya,  at
29    the  World  Conference  of  Women  in  1985; and recently she
30    earned a selection and listing in Ebony and Black Enterprises
31    magazines as one of the  top  black  females  who  have  made
32    significant  achievements  in government and education within
33    the United States; she is also included in  Who's  Who  Among
 
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 1    Black Americans; and

 2        WHEREAS,  Dr.  Goodwin's  life  was a celebration of many
 3    activities that involved her family, pets, and traveling; she
 4    helped establish the local chapter of the  Circle-Lets,  Inc,
 5    where she served as national President for two terms; she was
 6    made  a  sorer  of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority during college,
 7    and continued  to  participate  with  graduate  chapters  and
 8    eventually  held  national  office;  she  served  and led the
 9    Tenants Council at Lake Meadows  and  was  a  member  at  St.
10    Edmund's  Episcopal  Church;  she  traveled  over  the United
11    States to be a judge at dog and cat shows, and had remained a
12    member of  Cat  Fanciers  Association;  she  had  bred  prize
13    winning  cats  and  dogs  and  was  a  member  of the Chicago
14    Commission on Animal Care and Control; and

15        WHEREAS,  The  passing  of  Dr.  Mercedier  C.  deFreitas
16    Goodwin will be deeply felt by all who knew  and  loved  her,
17    especially  her  son,  Dr.  H.  Milano  Mellon;  her sisters,
18    Camille Malins-Smith, Carmela Rabjohn, Carmita  Joaquin,  Dr.
19    Candice  deFreitas,  and Dr. Crystal deFreitas; her brothers,
20    Marcellus (wife, Lorraine) Henderson, and Antonio  deFreitas;
21    her  granddaughters,  Maygan Mellon-Alvarado and Maya Mellon;
22    and her several nieces and nephews; therefore, be it

23        RESOLVED,  BY  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES   OF   THE
24    NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
25    we  mourn,  along  with  all  who  knew her, the death of Dr.
26    Mercedier C. deFreitas Goodwin of Chicago, Illinois;  and  be
27    it further

28        RESOLVED,  That  a  suitable  copy  of this resolution be
29    presented to the family of Dr. Mercedier C. deFreitas Goodwin
30    with our sincere condolences.

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