HR0352LRB101 12319 MST 60212 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of James Lee
4Falls Sr., who passed away on April 19, 2019; and
 
5    WHEREAS, James Falls was born in Pickens, Mississippi to
6Willie Allen and Izola (Woodcox) Falls on April 30, 1937; he
7attended Richland Vocational High School until his junior year
8and completed his education at Phillips High School in Chicago
9in 1959; he married Leonia in 1964; and
 
10    WHEREAS, From 1960 to 1977, James Falls worked as a bus boy
11and later as a manager at the department store Charles A.
12Stevens; in 1966, he took on a second job at night as a janitor
13with the University of Chicago; after a four-year
14apprenticeship, he worked as a building engineer, an
15opportunity only made available to people of color years after
16passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; by the time he and
17Leonia retired in 1999, they had acquired and sold over 24
18units of residential and commercial real estate; and
 
19    WHEREAS, James Falls was president of the 7700 S. Cornell
20Block Club Association and the Stony-Jeffery Citizens for
21Community Control; he was an active member of the 8th Ward
22Regular Democratic Organization and volunteered for numerous

 

 

HR0352- 2 -LRB101 12319 MST 60212 r

1civic organizations; he was a member of Greater Institutional
2A.M.E. Church for over 50 years, where he served as an usher;
3and
 
4    WHEREAS, James Falls enjoyed taking family road trips; he
5was an avid sports fan and especially enjoyed basketball,
6bowling, and attending his children's sporting events; and
 
7    WHEREAS, James Falls was preceded in death by his parents;
8his brothers, Willie Jr., Thomas, and Clarence; and his
9sisters, Allean, Doris, and Ruby; and
 
10    WHEREAS, James Falls is survived by his wife of 55 years,
11Leonia; his children, Gwendolyn (David), Rodney (Natalie), and
12James Jr. (Beverly); his grandchildren, Jeremy, Justin,
13Sydney, Jalynn, Raven, Milan, Gabrielle, and Zola; his
14siblings, John (Pat), Edward (Mary), Sam, Charles (Martha),
15Ruth (Howard), Carnear, and Homer (Dorothy); his
16siblings-in-law, BW, Elizabeth, Leomia (Delores), Mary, and
17Thomas; and a host of nieces and nephews; therefore, be it
 
18    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
19HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
20we mourn the passing of James Lee Falls Sr. and extend our
21sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew
22and loved him; and be it further
 

 

 

HR0352- 3 -LRB101 12319 MST 60212 r

1    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2presented to the family of James Falls as an expression of our
3deepest sympathy.