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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois | ||||||
3 | learned with sadness of the death of George Turk of Chicago on | ||||||
4 | June 19, 2005; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Mr. Turk was born December 24, 1931, in | ||||||
6 | Birmingham, Alabama, to Theodore Turk and Olivia Brewster; and
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7 | WHEREAS, After spending his early childhood in Alabama, he | ||||||
8 | moved to Chicago and was raised by Walter and Olivia (Brewster) | ||||||
9 | Casey; he attended elementary school at Douglas and Wendell | ||||||
10 | Phillips and graduated from Dunbar High School, where he was an | ||||||
11 | outstanding student athlete and joined the National Guard; and
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12 | WHEREAS, He attended Wilson Junior College and continued | ||||||
13 | his education at Chicago Teacher's College, where he graduated | ||||||
14 | with a bachelor's degree in 1955; he later attended DePaul | ||||||
15 | University and graduated in 1972 with a master's degree in | ||||||
16 | education; he was drafted into the Army in 1955 and served in | ||||||
17 | Germany for two years before being honorably discharged with | ||||||
18 | the rank of Sergeant; and
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19 | WHEREAS, He married Mary Louise Scott on December 28, 1955, | ||||||
20 | and they had two sons, George Wilkes and Jonathan George; and
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21 | WHEREAS, Mr. Turk was an educator by profession and began | ||||||
22 | teaching in the Chicago Public School system as a substitute in | ||||||
23 | 1955; he later taught full-time in a number of schools, | ||||||
24 | including Shakespeare, Herzl, and Shoop; he was appointed | ||||||
25 | assistant principal of the Jenner School; in 1975, he was named | ||||||
26 | principal of Fernwood Elementary School where he served with | ||||||
27 | distinction until his retirement in 1992; and
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28 | WHEREAS, During his time as a principal, he dedicated | ||||||
29 | himself to developing, training, and supporting black |
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1 | principals through the Samuel B. Stratton Association; he | ||||||
2 | served as the president of this organization of black | ||||||
3 | principals for many years; and
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4 | WHEREAS, After retiring from the Chicago Public School | ||||||
5 | system, he helped to establish the Developing Communities | ||||||
6 | Project Adult Literacy Program of Maple Park and became a | ||||||
7 | leading sales representative for the Globe Fearon Company; and
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8 | WHEREAS, He was an accomplished tenor and choir director | ||||||
9 | whose musical talents blossomed as choir director at Greater | ||||||
10 | Institutional A.M.E. Church; in 1962, he became one of the | ||||||
11 | charter members of the Maple Park United Methodist Church and | ||||||
12 | served as Minister of Music for over 30 years; he worked in the | ||||||
13 | church in many capacities over the years, serving as chairman | ||||||
14 | of the Pastor/Parish Relations Committee, president of the | ||||||
15 | United Methodist Men, and chairman of the Administrative Board; | ||||||
16 | and
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17 | WHEREAS, He loved people and tremendously treasured the | ||||||
18 | life he was blessed to lead; in addition to singing in a number | ||||||
19 | of choirs throughout Chicago, he enjoyed all types of musical | ||||||
20 | artists, from Howlin' Wolf to Pavarotti, and always seemed to | ||||||
21 | have a song in his heart; he was an avid bowler and was an | ||||||
22 | enthusiastic member of the Maple Park Homeowners League and the | ||||||
23 | Pilgrim Baptist Church League for many years; he also loved to | ||||||
24 | cook for family and friends and to laugh and play cards with | ||||||
25 | his buddies for hours on end; he had great affection for the | ||||||
26 | Maple Park neighborhood and was one of the early presidents of | ||||||
27 | the Maple Park Homeowners Association; and
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28 | WHEREAS, Mr. Turk led an exemplary life and because of his | ||||||
29 | remarkable journey was asked to provide his perspective in the | ||||||
30 | PBS documentary entitled "Remembering Chicago"; he will be | ||||||
31 | remembered as a loving husband, father, brother, relative, and | ||||||
32 | friend; and
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1 | WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his mother, Olivia; | ||||||
2 | his father, Theodore; his stepfather, Walter Casey; and his | ||||||
3 | sisters, Doris and Janice; and
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4 | WHEREAS, The passing of George Turk is felt by all who knew | ||||||
5 | and loved him, especially his wife of nearly 50 years, Mary | ||||||
6 | Louise; his sons, George Wilkes (Melinda) and Jonathan George | ||||||
7 | (Sherri); his grandsons, Morgan, Tyler, Joshua, and Mathew; his | ||||||
8 | granddaughter, Olivia; his brother, Theodore; his sister, | ||||||
9 | Loretta; his mother-in-law, Mary Scott; and a host of relatives | ||||||
10 | and friends; therefore, be it
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11 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL | ||||||
12 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we express our deepest | ||||||
13 | regret at the passing of George Turk and extend to his family | ||||||
14 | our most sincere condolences; and be it further
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15 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
16 | presented to his family as an expression of our heartfelt | ||||||
17 | sympathy.
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