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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, State Representative Monique D. Davis and the
3 Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the
4 death of Reverend Barbara Jean Allen of Chicago, who passed
5 away on November 13, 2007; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Rev. Barbara Jean Allen was born on January 15,
7 1934 in Chicago; she was the second child of Herbert Spencer
8 Salone Sr. and Anna Rae (Johnson); she married S.L. "Sam" Allen
9 on October 12, 1957; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Rev. Barbara Jean Allen was raised in Chicago; she
11 attended Doolittle Elementary School and Dunbar Vocational
12 High School, where she was recognized as an exceptional
13 student; it was at Dunbar that she met her future husband, S.L.
14 "Sam" Allen; and
 
15     WHEREAS, After graduating from Dunbar in 1951, Rev. Barbara
16 Jean Allen accepted a full-time position as an accounting clerk
17 at the Illinois Bell Telephone Company; she became a pioneer
18 within the company, becoming one of the first African-American
19 women to be hired as a stenographer before being promoted to
20 become one of the first African-American women to be a service
21 representative at Illinois Bell Telephone; she also held the
22 distinction of being one of the first five African-American

 

 

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1 level managers and one of three African-American second level
2 managers in the company, as well as serving as the first
3 African-American manager of Illinois Bell Telephone's new
4 Equal Employment Opportunity Department; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Rev. Barbara Jean Allen was raised in the Church
6 of the Living God CWFF; in 1962, she and her husband relocated
7 to the South Side of Chicago and became members of Trinity
8 United Church in Christ, under the leadership of Dr. Kenneth B.
9 Smith; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Soon after becoming a member of the Church of the
11 Living God CWFF, Rev. Barbara Jean Allen became active in many
12 of the church's programs; she joined the church's Christian
13 Education Department and became the backbone of the Sunday
14 School Department; she was elected to the Board of Christian
15 Education of Trinity; she was instrumental in the design and
16 development of a Church School curriculum for the church's
17 students; in 1977, she was commissioned as the Director of
18 Christian Education of Trinity at United Church of Christ and
19 was licensed as the first African-American female minister in
20 the Chicago Metropolitan Association of the Illinois
21 Conference of the United Church of Christ's history; she then
22 served as Assistant Pastor, followed by Executive Minister,
23 where she oversaw the operation of the church and its programs
24 for over 25 years; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, Under the guidance of Rev. Barbara Jean Allen, the
2 Church of the Living God CWFF greatly expanded its choir
3 programs from its original three choir groups into its current
4 incarnation, which includes the Sanctuary Choir, the Women's
5 Chorus, the Men's Chorus, Imani Ya Watume, the Little Warriors
6 for Christ, and Walaika; under her tutelage, over 8,000 new
7 members were taught the ways of the church and 35 seminarians
8 were supervised in their studies from beginning to end;
9 inspired by her battles with cancer, she founded the
10 Can-Cer-Vive Ministry; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Rev. Barbara Jean Allen is survived by her loving
12 husband of 55 years, S.L. "Sam" Allen; her children, Michael
13 and Sandra; her siblings, James (Gerry), Gail, Debra (Alvin),
14 and Mark (Valee); her grandchildren, Mikie, Alleyah, and Kayli;
15 her loving and supportive church family; and her many nieces,
16 nephews, other relatives, and friends; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Rev. Barbara Jean Allen will be remembered by all
18 who knew and loved her as a loving, patient, and gentle woman
19 who was always loyal to her family and obedient to God;
20 therefore, be it
 
21     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
22 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we

 

 

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1 mourn, along with her family and friends, the passing of
2 Reverend Barbara Jean Allen; and be it further
 
3     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
4 presented to the family of Reverend Barbara Jean Allen as an
5 expression of our sympathy.