HR0986 LRB094 19711 BDD 56259 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 Edna
4 Burrell Perry, an influential educator in the City of Chicago;
5 and
 
6     WHEREAS, She was born in Washington, D.C., to Annie and
7 Harold F. Burrell; she married Sidney L. Perry in 1954; and
 
8     WHEREAS, Education always played a major role in Mrs.
9 Perry's life; at the age of 15, she was hired at the Library of
10 Congress as a clerk in the Russian transliteration department;
11 later, she taught a business class at her high school while she
12 was a student there; and
 
13     WHEREAS, In 1952, Mrs. Perry enrolled at Howard University
14 in Washington, where she sang in the choir and studied music
15 education; she graduated first in her class in 1956, and she
16 later earned a master's degree in early childhood education
17 from Roosevelt University; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Mrs. Perry and her husband, Sidney, moved to
19 Chicago in 1957, and she began her teaching career in 1958 at
20 Healy Elementary School in Bridgeport; and
 
21     WHEREAS, When she started at Healy Elementary School, Mrs.
22 Perry was the first African-American teacher at any school in
23 Bridgeport, where, initially, some students' parents took them
24 out of her class, but after many of her pupils excelled,
25 parents were fighting to get their children in her classroom;
26 and
 
27     WHEREAS, In 1962 she moved to Wacker Elementary School,
28 where she taught second grade; she eventually became assistant
29 principal and was principal for several years until she retired

 

 

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1 in 1994; and
 
2     WHEREAS, A woman born ahead of her time, she had a strong
3 entrepreneurial spirit and a keen interest in nutrition and
4 alternative methods of healing; her involvement as a health
5 care products distributor became a vehicle for an international
6 multicultural team with a mission to improve the health of
7 others; prior to the popularity of nutritional counseling she
8 stressed the importance of daily vitamin and herbal
9 supplementation and the connection between the foods consumed
10 and the body's overall wellbeing; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Her pursuits where not limited to her career, but
12 also included involvement in a number of organizations: Delta
13 Sigma Theta Sorority, National Pharmacists Association
14 Auxiliary with two terms as President (1977-1979 and
15 1990-1993), Chicago Pharmacist Association Auxiliary President
16 (1969-1974), American Cancer Society, and the Black Creativity
17 Gala Committee of the Museum of Science and Industry, General
18 Chairperson (2003); and
 
19     WHEREAS, After retiring, Mrs. Perry continued to serve as
20 minister of music at Church of the Good Shepherd, as she had
21 since she and her husband moved to Chicago; she held the
22 position for 47 years and was the church's longest continuous
23 employee; and
 
24     WHEREAS, The passing of Edna Burrell Perry will be felt by
25 all who knew and loved her, especially her husband, Sidney L.
26 Perry Jr.; her daughters, Angela Perry (Michael Banks) and
27 Andrea Perry-Williams (Lemuel Williams); her sister, Edith
28 Henderson; her Brother James Burrell (Doris); her
29 granddaughters, Lauren R. Banks and Michelle R. Williams; her
30 sister-in-law, Hortense Canady (Dr. Clinton Canady); her
31 father-in-law, Jones E. Franklin; her brother-in-law, Kevin E.
32 Franklin; her uncle, Smallwood Harrison; her aunt, Odessa

 

 

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1 Harrison (Clarence); and her many nieces, nephews, cousins, and
2 friends; therefore, be it
 
3     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
4 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
5 that we mourn, along with all who knew and loved her, the death
6 of Edna Burrell Perry; and be it further
 
7     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
8 presented to the family of Edna Burrell Perry as an expression
9 of our sympathy.