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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3 learn of the death of Willie Thomas of Peoria Heights, who
4 passed away on July 10, 2007; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Willie Thomas was born on June 10, 1913, in
6 Jackson, Mississippi; her parents were Albert and Emma (Cox)
7 Brady; she grew up and lived most of her life in Jackson with
8 her older brothers, Julius and Louis Brady; she attended County
9 Line Baptist Church School and later attended Lenior High
10 School in Jackson, Mississippi; she later married and had three
11 children, George Edward Ward, Eugene Powell Jr., and May Emma
12 Samples; and
 
13     WHEREAS, Willie Thomas moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in
14 1944; in 1969, she moved to Kewanee, where she owned a soul
15 food restaurant; she later moved to Peoria and purchased a 10
16 acre farm, where she raised and sold livestock; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Willie Thomas was a devoted and loyal Christian
18 throughout her life; she was a member of Peoria Friendship
19 Baptist Church, where she also served as a Mother of the
20 church; and
 
21     WHEREAS, Willie Thomas was known throughout the Peoria

 

 

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1 Heights neighborhood as "Miss Earlene"; she was best known for
2 her volunteer work at Carver Center, where she spent hours
3 encouraging others and spreading laughter; she made it a point
4 to drive to the center and visit her friends to bring a smile
5 to their faces; the young and old always loved her visits and
6 witty sense of humor; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Willie Thomas was preceded in death by her
8 siblings, Julius and Louis Brady; and her daughter; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Willie Thomas is survived by her sons, George
10 Edward Ward Sr. and Eugene Powell Jr.; her seventeen
11 grandchildren; her forty-seven great-grandchildren; her seven
12 great-great-grandchildren; and a host of cousins and nephews;
13 therefore, be it
 
14     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL
15 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
16 her family and friends, the passing of Willie Thomas; and be it
17 further
 
18     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
19 presented to the family of Willie Thomas as an expression of
20 our sympathy.