093_HR0322
LRB093 11871 RAH 16121 r
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of
3 the State of Illinois were saddened to learn of the death of
4 Carol L. Fitzgerald on Sunday, April 10, 2003; and
5 WHEREAS, Carol L. Fitzgerald was born in New Orleans,
6 Louisiana on January 1, 1956, the third child of Dr. Robert
7 and Mercedes Johnson; at an early age, her family moved to
8 Chicago, Illinois where she attended Higgins and Shoop
9 Elementary Schools and graduated from Fenger High School;
10 WHEREAS, After moving to Chicago, Mrs. Fitzgerald
11 accepted Christ at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church where she
12 married Larry Fitzgerald on September 29, 1979; and
13 WHEREAS, She received an Associate of Arts Degree in Pre-Law
14 from Olive-Harvey Junior College and attended DePaul
15 University in Chicago; in 1979, Carol and her husband, Larry,
16 moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota; where they welcomed the
17 birth of their sons, Larry Jr., born on August 31, 1983 and
18 Marcus, born on July 1, 1985; they are members of New
19 Beginnings Baptist Tabernacle; and
20 WHEREAS, Mrs. Fitzgerald began her career in Minnesota at
21 Blue Cross Blue Shield; she began her career in the health
22 field as an outreach worker for Turning Point Chemical
23 Dependency Treatment Program educating people at risk for
24 acquiring HIV and STDs due to drug use behavior; in 1992, she
25 began working for the Minnesota Department of Health reaching
26 out to communities of color to educate women about early
27 detection of breast and cervical cancer; that same year she
28 became a Disease Intervention Specialist working with people
29 newly diagnosed with HIV or STDs providing counseling to
30 reduce reinfection, referral to treatment, and identifying
31 and notifying partners; and
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1 WHEREAS, She became dedicated to eliminating the spread
2 of HIV/AIDS in the African-American community; in 1989, she
3 began befriending African Americans with HIV/AIDS and acting
4 as a "soul mate" or buddy by helping them with physical needs
5 and providing emotional and spiritual support; and
6 WHEREAS, Mrs. Fitzgerald was co-founder and served as a
7 volunteer caregiver with the Circle of Love support group
8 through the Minneapolis Urban League; she was involved in the
9 AIDS ministry at her church and was a board member of the
10 AIDS Interfaith Council; she served as a volunteer at Agape
11 House and as a board member of the Minnesota AIDS Project; in
12 1994, she was the founding member of the African-American
13 AIDS Task Force and facilitated Sistas Healing Sistas
14 HIV/AIDS support group; as a certified Red Cross HIV/AIDS
15 Instructor, she volunteered to present HIV prevention
16 workshops; she was a member of the community advisory board
17 of the AIDS Clinical Trial Unit at the University of
18 Minnesota and served as a member of the Minnesota Department
19 of Health's HIV Planning Council; and
20 WHEREAS, She was instrumental in raising the issue of
21 HIV/AIDS within the Twin Cities African-American community
22 and contributed to strengthening the network of prevention
23 and service organizations and their staffs through mentoring
24 and providing support; when Carol was diagnosed with breast
25 cancer in 1997, she became active in the African-American
26 Breast Cancer Alliance; this past year, she recorded a breast
27 cancer awareness video with her friend Melanie Williams which
28 aired on a local television station; and
29 WHEREAS, Mrs. Fitzgerald received the following awards
30 and honors: the Minnesota Communities of Color Health
31 Leadership Award(2000), a Certificate of Achievement from the
32 City Inc. HIV/STD Prevention & Awareness Program, a
33 Certificate of Appreciation from the Minneapolis Urban
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1 League's Circle of Love Program, and the Leadership Award
2 from the Twin Cities United Negro College Fund 2000 9th
3 Annual Walk-A-Thon; and
4 WHEREAS, The passing of Carol Fitzgerald will be deeply
5 felt by all who knew her, especially by her husband, Larry
6 Sr.; her sons, Larry Jr. and Marcus; her parents, Dr. Robert
7 and Mercedes Johnson; her sister and brother-in-law, Valerie
8 and Norman Thomas Sr. and their children, Norman Jr. and
9 Gabrielle; her sister and brother-in-law, Dr. Stephanie and
10 Perry Brown and their children, Crystal and Robert; her
11 brother, Robert Johnson Jr.; her sister and brother-in-law,
12 Kimberly and Byron Henry; her sister and brother-in-law,
13 Paula and Samuel Jones II and their children, Samuel III,
14 Candice, Jasmine, and Kyle; her father-in-law and
15 mother-in-law, Robert and Sally Fitzgerald Sr., her
16 brother-in-law, Robert Fitzgerald Jr.; her sister-in-law,
17 Marilyn Fitzgerald; her brother-in-law, Michael Fitzgerald;
18 her brother and sister-in-law, Ephriam and Cren Fitzgerald
19 and their daughter, Erin; her cousin, Tony Pinder and his
20 wife, Vickie; her nephew, Jason Jenkins; and a host of
21 additional relatives and friends; therefore, be it
22 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
23 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
24 we mourn the passing of Carol L. Fitzgerald and express our
25 sincere and deepest sympathy to her family and friends; and
26 be it further
27 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
28 presented to the family of Carol L. Fitzgerald as an
29 expression of our condolences during their time of
30 bereavement.