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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Bishop
4Harold Breon Dawson Jr. of Peoria, who passed away on July 14,
52019; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Harold Dawson was born in Peoria to Mattie Pearl
7and Bishop Harold Dawson Sr. on August 5, 1970 as they
8organized New Hope Church of Deliverance; he earned a
9bachelor's degree from Jackson State University and studied at
10the Lincoln Christian Seminary; he earned a divinity degree
11from Virginia Union University while battling cancer and lung
12disease; he was accepted as a candidate for a Ph.D. in
13Organizational Leadership from The Chicago School of
14Professional Psychology; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Harold Dawson was complemented in devotion, life,
16and love by his wife, Lori T. Guyton; they were blessed with
17three children, Harold Breon III, Haven Bre'aire, and
18Harrington Blake; he expressed fatherly love, joy, and pride in
19each of his children; he expressed love and passion in his
20union; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Harold Dawson was licensed and ordained as a
22minister by his father; he served as pastor of New Hope

 

 

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1International Ministries for over a decade; he founded and
2organized New Life Christian Church to bring pastoral care to
3new people through innovative programs; he evangelized and
4ministered to people in South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago;
5he received consecration as a bishop in 2016; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Harold Dawson exhibited a commitment to his
7community, serving on the boards of the Peoria Chapter of the
8NAACP, the Peoria Ministers Economic Development Organization
9(PMEDO), Catholic Charities, the Peoria Community Area Project
10(PCAP), the Peoria County Citizens Advisory Board, Illinois One
11Family One Child, the Peoria Christian Leadership Council
12(PCLC), and the Wayne A. Downing Metropolitan Airport
13Authority; he served on the Morehouse School of Medicine's
14Imani Project Board to address HIV/AIDS in the African American
15community; he worked as a case manager and recruiting director
16at the Lifeline Connections Advocacy Center; he was a member of
17Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Harold Dawson was a devoted husband and father;
19his amazing personality, wit, charming smile "with dimples",
20and warm, fatherly touch shall never fade into oblivion; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Harold Dawson was preceded in death by his mother,
22Evangelist/Prophetess Mattie Pearl Dawson; his father-in-law
23and mentor, Pastor A. J. Guyton; and his grandmothers, Mother

 

 

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1Maybelle Mitchell and Leila Mae Dawson; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Harold Dawson is survived by his wife of 22 years,
3Lori; his children, Harold III, Haven, and Harrington; his
4father, Harold Sr.; his sisters, Sheirie Dawson and Shannon
5Dawson Galloway (Stacy); his brother, Ahmad Jamal Dawson
6(Jewel); his mother-in-law, Lena M. Guyton; and many aunts,
7uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins; therefore, be it
 
8    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
9HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
10we mourn the passing of Bishop Harold Breon Dawson Jr. and
11extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all
12who knew and loved him; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14presented to the family of Harold Dawson as an expression of
15our deepest sympathy.