HR1591 LRB095 22937 GRL 53384 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate Dr. Zelda Birdsong
4 of Chicago on the occasion of her 100th birthday on December
5 18, 2008; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Dr. Zelda Birdsong was born on December 18, 1908
7 in Sardis, Mississippi; she attended school at LeMoyne High
8 School and Tennessee State University in Memphis, Tennessee;
9 she also attended Northwestern University in Chicago, majoring
10 in journalism; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Dr. Zelda Birdsong was employed as a school
12 teacher in Memphis, Tennessee; she was employed with the United
13 States government with the U.S. Department of Agriculture; she
14 served as an administrative assistant for the Reverend D.I.
15 Isom, Jr.; she also has performed various duties with the St.
16 Paul C.M.E. Church in Chicago; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Dr. Zelda Birdsong has had a long and
18 distinguished record of service with the C.M.E. Church; in
19 1919, she joined the Missionary Society of the C.M.E. Church in
20 Memphis, Tennessee; she has been a loyal and faithful member of
21 the St. Paul C.M.E. Church in Chicago since 1939; in 1978, she
22 was appointed to be a member of the Judicial Council of the

 

 

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1 Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; and
 
2     WHEREAS, Dr. Zelda Birdsong is a member of numerous
3 organizations within the C.M.E. Church, including the C.M.E.
4 Hall of Fame, the R.A. Carter Club, the Silent Workers Club,
5 the Lay Department, and the Sunday School program; she is a
6 past director of the Board of Christian Education and a past
7 secretary at the Missionary Society's national level; she was
8 the first woman to be appointed to the Steward Board; she
9 currently holds the offices of vice-chair of the Steward Board
10 and parliamentarian of the St. Paul C.M.E. Church Missionary
11 Society; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Dr. Zelda Birdsong married Arnie Quarles in 1937;
13 he passed away in 1976; in 1981, she married Robert Birdsong;
14 he passed away in 1996; she has four children, Essie Hill
15 (deceased), Robert Birdsong Jr., Calvin Birdsong, and Leonard
16 Birdsong; she also has a niece, Patricia Huey-You, and a
17 nephew, Anderson Springfield; therefore, be it
 
18     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
19 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
20 congratulate Dr. Zelda Birdsong on the occasion of her 100th
21 birthday and wish her many more happy and healthy years to
22 come; and be it further
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2 presented to Dr. Zelda Birdsong as a symbol of our esteem and
3 respect.