HR0565 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0565 LRB099 12679 MST 36408 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the passing of Lauranita Taylor Dugas on May 20, 2015; and

WHEREAS, Lauranita Dugas was born on December 2, 1926 in Chicago to Dorothy and Robert Rochon Taylor, who served as the first African-American chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority and was credited with establishing standards for public housing in Chicago and the nation; she was the granddaughter of the first African-American graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the country's first academically trained African-American architect; and

WHEREAS, Lauranita Dugas graduated from what was then Parker High School in 1944; she subsequently studied at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where she earned a bachelor's degree in sociology and met her future husband, Lester J. Dugas, Jr., whom she married in 1949 and shared a lifetime of civic engagement; and

WHEREAS, Lauranita Dugas carried on her family's legacy and work in education for the African-American community at the Head Start Program, the State of Illinois' Institute for Juvenile Research, and the Chicago Child Care Society, where she served as a supervising teacher for 25 years until her retirement; and

WHEREAS, Lauranita Dugas served as a Chair of the Jones-Swift Scholarship fund as part of the Chicago Metropolitan Association for the Education of Young Children; she also served as a charter member of the Working in the Schools program for the Chicago Public Schools; and

WHEREAS, Lauranita Dugas was a member of the board of visitors for the University of Wisconsin School for Human Ecology, a founding member of the Museum of Science and Industry's Black Creativity Committee, active with the Leadership Advisory Committee at the Art Institute of Chicago, and the namesake of the Lauranita T. and Lester J. Dugas, Jr. Scholarship at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, through which scholarships are awarded to talented minority students with financial need; and

WHEREAS, Lauranita Dugas is remembered for being a teacher who believed early childhood education was the key to success; she was fully committed to seeing the whole child in the context of his or her family and community, and she had the uncanny ability to connect with children and help them feel comfortable with their own abilities; and

WHEREAS, Lauranita Dugas was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 50 years, Lester Dugas, Jr.; and

WHEREAS, Lauranita Dugas is survived by her 3 children, Gail D. Dugas, Dr. Jeffrey A. Dugas, Sr. (Tina), and Lauren Dugas Glover (Kenneth); her 5 grandchildren, Andrea Dugas Douglas (Christopher), Jeffrey A. Dugas, Jr. (Nakeesha), Evan J. Glover, Jonathan T. Glover, and Taylor J. Dugas; her 3 great-grandchildren, Jordan Douglas, Christopher Douglas, Jr., and Sydney Douglas; her sister, Dr. Barbara Bowman; her 2 sisters-in-law, Dolores Scurlock and Carolyn (John) Viera; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, godchildren, extended family, and countless friends across the United States, Europe, and Africa; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with her family, friends, colleagues, and those whose lives she touched, mourn the passing of Lauranita Dugas; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Lauranita Dugas as an expression of our deepest sympathies and respect.