HR0317 LRB094 12017 HSS 45128 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 Joan
4 Carole Miller Wood on Friday, April 8, 2005; and
 
5     WHEREAS, She was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, on
6 August 1, 1940, to James Erroll Miller, Ph.D., and Grace Odessa
7 Thomas Miller; she grew up on the campus of Lincoln University,
8 a historically black college, where she developed a passion for
9 education and a love of the written word; after attending
10 Washington Elementary school, she became one of the first
11 African Americans to attend Jefferson City Senior High School;
12 while in high school, she was the recipient of many accolades,
13 including induction into the National Honor Society and
14 receiving the Outstanding Journalist award; and
 
15     WHEREAS, After graduating with honors, she went on to
16 attend Wellesley College in Massachusetts; while pursuing her
17 degree in political science, she forged friendships with the
18 few other African Americans on campus, there were only seven,
19 and the friendships last until this day; she especially enjoyed
20 her time in Massachusetts with trips to Boston, Harvard
21 parties, Yale football games, pledging Delta Sigma Theta, and
22 peppermint ice cream with chocolate sauce from the dormitory
23 cafeteria; and
 
24     WHEREAS, After graduating from Wellesley, she moved to
25 Philadelphia to attend the University of Pennsylvania,
26 Annenberg School of Communications, where she earned her degree
27 in photojournalism; her professional career began in the
28 Washington, D.C., office of U.S. Senator Edward Long of
29 Missouri; this job honed her analytical and writing skills and
30 instilled in her a commitment to community service; armed with
31 these tools and a passion for human equality, she went to work
32 for the St. Louis Urban League and later the Louisville Urban

 

 

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1 League, where she met her groom, Clarence N. Wood; and
 
2     WHEREAS, They were married August 15, 1970, at the home of
3 her parents on the campus of Indiana University; shortly after
4 they married she became a National Urban Fellow, and the
5 newlyweds soon moved to Akron, Ohio; while in Ohio, Mrs. Wood
6 worked for the Cleveland Foundation and completed additional
7 graduate work in Public Administration; on May 13, 1972, Joan
8 and Clarence were blessed with the birth of their only child,
9 Carole, named after her mother; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Over the years, Mrs. Wood's commitment to
11 community service was demonstrated through her work as: the
12 National Executive Director of the Settlement House
13 Association of America (New York); Senior Program Officer of
14 the Chicago Community Trust; Director, Senior staff associate
15 of the National Council of Negro Women; and Principal, Miller
16 Wood Associates - business consulting (Chicago); she served as
17 a consultant for various entities often as "angel in the
18 background"; and
 
19     WHEREAS, She was an avid reader, music lover, and patron of
20 the arts; she served on the boards of the Frank Lloyd Wright
21 Preservation Trust, the Chicago Chamber Musicians, the Jane
22 Addams Juvenile Court Foundation, and the Woman's Board of the
23 Field Museum; she loved spending time with her friends,
24 traveling with the Network, New Years Day parties in New York,
25 holiday celebrations, and season tickets to local theatre; and
 
26     WHEREAS, Known for her wit and grace, Mrs. Wood was able to
27 immediately make friends and acquaintances feel at ease and
28 comfortable; additionally, she had a way of making people feel
29 so special because she remembered so many of "the little
30 things"; although she would be the first to deny it, she was a
31 gifted hostess and given to excitingly marvelous recipes and
32 tablescapes; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, The passing of Joan Carole Miller Wood has been
2 deeply felt by many, especially her husband, Clarence; her
3 daughter, Carole; her son-in-law, Carl Jenkins; her brother,
4 James Erroll Miller II; her niece, Kimberly Miller; her nephew,
5 James Erroll Miller III; her loving cousins, James and Olivia
6 Fleming and their children and grandchildren, Jana, Jennifer,
7 James Jr., John, Sam, Jake, Journey, and Olivia; her foster
8 sons, Garaen Flake and Phillip Rivers; and her many cousins,
9 friends, and loved ones; therefore, be it
 
10     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
11 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
12 we mourn the passing of Joan Carole Miller Wood, and we extend
13 our sincere condolences to her family, friends, and all who
14 knew and loved her; and be it further
 
15     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
16 presented to her family as an expression of our deepest
17 sympathy.