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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of John Henry Crawford Jr. of Oak Park, who
4passed away on February 1, 2020; and
 
5    WHEREAS, John Crawford Jr. was born in Round Pond, Arkansas
6to John Henry and Essie Crawford on July 8, 1939; he was the
7oldest of fourteen children; he graduated from Paul Laurence
8Dunbar High School in Chicago; he later joined the U.S. Army,
9where he became a medic and received honors; and
 
10    WHEREAS, John Crawford Jr. married Beulah White in 1961;
11together, they had five children, Jonathan T. Crawford, Zina
12(James) Crawford-Lott, Yvonne C. (Archie) Burston, Malcolm S.
13(Stacia) Crawford, and Cheryle (Ujana) Robinson; he also had
14two other sons, LeJon Crawford and Vernon Crawford; and
 
15    WHEREAS, John Crawford Jr. was nicknamed "Big John"; he was
16known as one of the four founders of the West Side Organization
17(WSO), which advocated on behalf of the black community for
18civil rights in the early 1960s; he organized many meaningful
19marches, meetings, and events, which led him to be asked to
20protect Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. while he was in Chicago; and
 
21    WHEREAS, John Crawford Jr. committed to his faith at an

 

 

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1early age and was licensed to minister in the early 1970s; he
2created F.A.I.T.H., INC., an advocacy organization for the
3rights of ex-offenders in 1987; and
 
4    WHEREAS, John Crawford Jr. met Patty Stewart in 1993, and
5they were married in 1995; they had five children, Djwan,
6Jackie, Leah, Ziara (Ted) Copper, and Jonathan McDonald; their
7family grew to include 25 grandchildren, 12
8great-grandchildren, with one more expected soon, one
9great-great-grandson, and two godsons, Derrick Reeves and
10Solomon Robinson; and
 
11    WHEREAS, John Crawford Jr. was preceded in death by his
12son, Djwan; his brothers Vernon, Herman, Lester, Harold,
13Menard, and Cordell Crawford; and his sister, Carolyn (Henry)
14Johnson; and
 
15    WHEREAS, John Crawford Jr. is survived by his loving wife
16of 25 years, Patty Crawford; his brothers, Arnold (Beatrice)
17and Kenneth (Vinnie) Crawford; his sisters, Dorothy, Erna
18(Henry), Cheryle (Jesse), and Joan (Johnnie); his
19brother-in-law, Thomas Stewart; his sister-in-law, Irma
20(Grant) Dobson; his sons and daughters; and his many special
21nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and loved ones; therefore,
22be it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
2ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
3John Henry Crawford Jr. and extend our sincere condolences to
4his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
5further
 
6    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
7presented to the family of John Crawford Jr. as an expression
8of our deepest sympathy.