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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Violette King of Godfrey, who passed away
4on January 4, 2016; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Violette King was born to Elias and Sevastie (nee
6Kotsakis) Papagianis on July 21, 1943 in Tirana, Albania, 2
7months before the German occupation; in 1945, she, her mother,
8and her older brother were smuggled across the closed,
9communist-controlled border, into Greece, where they joined
10her father, who had previously gone to Greece for surgery; the
11family immigrated to the United States in 1957; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Violette King graduated from the University of
13Miami School of Cytotechnology and attended Washington
14University in St. Louis, Missouri; she received her bachelor's
15degree, with honors, from Southern Illinois University
16Edwardsville; she married Dr. Ordie H. King, Jr. on March 21,
171974 in a civil ceremony in Memphis, Tennessee; shortly
18thereafter, they were married at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox
19Church in St. Louis; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Violette King helped develop the curriculum for
21and was the first teaching supervisor of the School of
22Cytotechnology at Washington University/Barnes Hospital from

 

 

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11963 to 1967; she was the Cytology/Histology Supervisor for
2several medical laboratories in St. Louis, Missouri from 1969
3to 1974; from 1976 to 2008, she was the Laboratory Supervisor
4of Southern Illinois Pathology Laboratory, Ltd. in Godfrey; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Violette King was the founder and first President
6of the St. Louis Society of Cytology in 1967 and a ceremony was
7held in 1974 honoring her for this accomplishment; she was
8co-author on several scientific publications and served on the
9faculty of multiple regional, national, and international
10cytopathology workshops; in 1982, the Board of Directors of the
11American Society of Cytopathology, then the American Society of
12Cytology, selected her, based on outstanding professional
13accomplishments, as one of the first cytotechnologists to
14receive full voting privileges in this medical organization;
15and
 
16    WHEREAS, In 1995, Violette King founded and was President
17of Nursing Home Monitors, a non-profit advocacy organization
18for nursing home residents; she received multiple national,
19regional, and local awards for her dedicated efforts; her
20awards included the 2003 Women of Worth Award from the St.
21Louis chapter of OWL, an organization dedicated to economic
22security and quality of life issues for women over 40, and the
232004 Liberty Bell Award from the Madison County Bar
24Association; she was featured in several magazines for her work

 

 

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1on behalf of nursing home residents; in October of 2002, the
2St. Louis Post-Dispatch called her, "one of the nation's
3leading voices for nursing home reform"; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Violette King was well known for her gardening
5hobby, which included her extensive plantings of various
6hydrangeas; in November of 1996, she and her hydrangeas were on
7the cover on St. Louis Lifestyles Magazine, and in August of
81997, the Alton Telegraph ran a feature article on her, titled,
9"The Hydrangea Lady"; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Violette King was preceded in death by her
11parents; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Violette King is survived by her husband, Dr.
13Ordie H. King, Jr; her daughter, Catherine A. King and husband,
14Michael Krutzsch; her beloved grandson, Elliot Spencer King;
15her son, Alexander C. King and wife, Joyce King; her stepson,
16Ordie H. King, III; her stepdaughter, Anna Lavelle King; her
17brother, Pete Papagianis and wife, Beverly; her nephew, Jimmy
18Papagianis and wife, Kelly; her niece, Maria Papagianis; and
19her beloved canine foundling, Damon; therefore, be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
21ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
22Violette King, and extend our sincere condolences to her

 

 

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1family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it
2further
 
3    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
4presented to the family of Violette King as an expression of
5our deepest sympathy.