HR0978 LRB093 22314 HSS 51402 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the
3 State of Illinois learned with regret of the death of Albretta
4 Catherine Harris-Hannon on May 17, 2004; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Albretta Catherine Harris-Hannon was born in
6 Alexandria, Louisiana; her parents, Albert Johnson and Mary
7 Hodges Johnson, local merchants, both preceded her in death;
8 she attended South Alexandria Elementary School and Lampton
9 College high school; she was married in 1924 to Calvin C.
10 Harris, who preceded her in death; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Mrs. Harris-Hannon was employed as a domestic for
12 many years until she took a leap of faith and opened her own
13 business; the motel, "Bretta's Hideaway", was built in 1951 by
14 her Uncle Willie Hodges and opened in 1955; for many years, she
15 provided comfortable living conditions for countless hunters
16 and fishermen; famed singer/entertainer Jackie Wilson visited
17 "Bretta's Hideaway"; she had superb business skills inherited
18 from her parents and involved everyone in the family business;
19 she delegated with the precision of a CEO of a Fortune 500
20 company; the motel was her passion as well as working as an
21 entrepreneur; she was a pioneer and real renaissance woman and
22 retired in August 1988; and
 
23     WHEREAS, Albretta married Louis S. Hannon in 1955; they
24 spent many wonderful years together until his death in 1998;
25 and
 
26     WHEREAS, Mrs. Harris-Hannon had a zest for life and had
27 various interests; she enjoyed vacationing in exotic places
28 like Hawaii and the Caribbean and visiting relatives all over
29 the U.S., including Los Angeles; she was very civic minded and
30 was an active member of the Woodlawn Organization; she fought
31 for social progress and worked with Holy Cross Church to stop

 

 

HR0978 - 2 - LRB093 22314 HSS 51402 r

1 the displacement of persons from the Woodlawn community by the
2 University of Chicago; and
 
3     WHEREAS, Mrs. Harris-Hannon was very active and supportive
4 of her two churches; in the early days of Indiana Avenue United
5 Methodist Church (now known as Gorham), where she joined in
6 1934, she assisted with fish fries and spaghetti dinners to
7 help raise funds for the church; she was honored in 2003 by
8 Gorham for being a Senior Member of the church; she became
9 interested in new thought teachings when her cousin brought
10 home a discarded Daily Word and shared the information with
11 her; she had a strong belief in the power of prayer and firmly
12 believed that the family that prayed together stayed together;
13 she was extremely frugal minded and knew the value of a dollar;
14 and
 
15     WHEREAS, The passing of Albretta Catherine Harris-Hannon
16 has been deeply felt by many, especially her sons, Henry and
17 Albert; her daughters, Elective and Melloee; her
18 grandchildren, Mary, Victor, Albert, Jr., Beverly, Calvin,
19 Darryl, Eugenia, Joseph, Stephanie, and Sherri; her
20 great-grandchildren, Rodney, Eric, Sonia, Felicia, Nicole,
21 Christopher, Robert, Brooke, Dawn, Charles IV, Michael, and
22 Stephen; and her many relatives, friends, neighbors, and others
23 whose lives she touched; her daughter, Mary, preceded her in
24 death; therefore, be it
 
25     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
26 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
27 mourn the passing of Albretta Catherine Harris-Hannon, and we
28 extend our sincerest condolences to her family, friends, and
29 all who knew and loved her; and be it further
 
30     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
31 presented to the family of Albretta Catherine Harris-Hannon as
32 an expression of our deepest sympathy.