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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3 learn of the death of Roy Osbourne Carroll, Jr. of Morgan Park;
4 and
 
5     WHEREAS, Roy Osbourne Carroll, Jr. was born on October 9,
6 1931; his parents were Roy O. and Artie Mae Carroll; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Roy Osbourne Carroll, Jr. grew up in Morgan Park,
8 where he completed his primary and secondary education in the
9 public school system; he accepted Christ at an early age,
10 attending Arnett Chapel AME Church with his family; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Roy Osbourne Carroll, Jr. ran track during his
12 years at Morgan Park High School; he met his future wife,
13 Theresa Bell, while in school, but she wasn't interested in him
14 because of his rough associates; after high school, he began
15 attending Wilson Jr. College and was taking a pre-med course to
16 be a doctor when he quit school and went into the U.S. Army
17 instead, serving in Korea for 12 months after attending jump
18 school in Ft. Benning, Georgia; after returning to the U.S., he
19 was assigned to a chemical unit in Ft. Ord, California, where
20 his job was to fly over ground zero in the desert in a
21 helicopter holding a Geiger counter to determine the amount of
22 radiation present; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, After Roy Osbourne Carroll, Jr. was discharged
2 from the U.S. Army, he attended a television school under the
3 GI Bill; impressed by his new-found drive to succeed, Roy and
4 Theresa married in 1955; together, they had three children,
5 Cynthia (Asabi), Roy III (Rocki), and Kimberly; after his
6 marriage, he and his father-in-law opened a radio and
7 television repair shop, dealing in Philco products; the shop
8 then evolved into a record shop, subsequently becoming a video
9 rental store; in the late 1980s, the family shop changed again
10 as their eldest daughter became interested in black awareness;
11 inspired by this new awareness, the store began selling
12 black-authored books and African goods; and
 
13     WHEREAS, Upon his departure from the U.S. Army, Roy
14 Osbourne Carroll, Jr. took the exams for both the Park District
15 Police and the Fire Department while employed at the Board of
16 Education's maintenance department; after passing both exams,
17 he decided to work at the Fire Department, becoming one of the
18 first African-Americans hired for the Fire Department in April
19 of 1962; his first assignment was E16; he then worked at E66
20 from August of 1965 until it went out of service, when he went
21 to E45 at 46th and Cottage Grove; he then went back to E16,
22 where he served as a recruiter, going to churches trying to get
23 African-Americans to join the Fire Department; at one time, he
24 served as the physical education instructor, going to different

 

 

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1 houses in the Battalion; in 1982, he was promoted to the rank
2 of Lieutenant and relocated to the Fire Prevention Bureau;
3 while serving at the Bureau, he met Francisco de La Cerna, who
4 promoted him to the position of Public Assembly Inspector,
5 where he inspected any place that held over 300 people; upon
6 making the Captain's list in 1991, he was assigned to the West
7 Side Fire Prevention Bureau, where he served as the Assistant
8 Bureau Commander until his retirement in 1996; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Roy Osbourne Carroll, Jr. was honored by the
10 Honorable Jesse Jackson Jr. by being placed in the
11 Congressional Record on October 31, 1997; in addition to being
12 involved in both Million Man Marches, Mr. Carroll has served as
13 the Chairman of the 111th St. Business Association; he was the
14 founder of the 'Reclaiming the Drum' Festival in Morgan Park;
15 he was a member of Morgan Park Community Roots Organization, a
16 founding member of the Old Tymers Organization of retired
17 firefighters and paramedics, a member of the Tuesday Morning
18 Breakfast Club, a founding member of Umoja Business Alliance,
19 and an organizer of the satellite distribution market for the
20 Southern Black Farmers' Network; he served as Senior
21 Vice-Commander of Captain John Daniel's VFW Post #111 and as
22 griot of Safari Marketplace's empowerment group of
23 manufacturers, designers, and distributors; and
 
24     WHEREAS, Roy Osbourne Carroll, Jr. considered his yard to

 

 

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1 be his pride and joy; he could often be found in the yard,
2 playing jazz music while tinkering with his koi fish pond or
3 cutting the grass, yet always ready to take a break and impart
4 some history and knowledge to all who would listen; he was the
5 surrogate brother, father, and uncle to many in the community;
6 his incredible grasp of Morgan Park facts, notables, and
7 folklore earned him the nickname of "Mayor of Morgan Park"; and
 
8     WHEREAS, Roy Osbourne Carroll, Jr. will be greatly missed
9 by all who knew and loved him, including his loving wife of 52
10 years, Theresa; his children, Asabi (Larry Station, Jr.), Roy
11 III, and Kimberly (Roger Sowell); his grandchildren, Imani
12 Station, Larry Station III, Nia Station, Jon Powell, and Brandi
13 Powell; his great-grandchildren, Lashanti Powell and Olivia
14 Powell; his sister, Marilyn Haynes; his three nieces and two
15 nephews; and his many other relatives, extended family members,
16 and friends; therefore, be it
 
17     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL
18 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
19 his family and friends, the passing of Roy Osbourne Carroll,
20 Jr.; and be it further
 
21     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
22 presented to the family of Roy Osbourne Carroll, Jr. as an
23 expression of our sympathy.