SR0498 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0498 LRB103 33691 LAW 63503 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Claire Nabors McLendon; and

WHEREAS, Claire McLendon was born to Charles James Nabors and Melissa Denola Nabors in Cleveland, Ohio on July 18, 1935; she was raised in Cleveland and graduated from John Adams High School in 1953; as a teen, she attended The Music Settlement in Cleveland, where she studied Dalcroze Eurhythmics, music theory, and the flute; she also began gardening a plot of land at the Harvey Rice School Garden, becoming an experimental gardener and a student assistant; and

WHEREAS, Claire McLendon earned her Bachelor of Science in Education from Ohio University in 1957, where she joined a local sorority; following graduation, she joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. at Case Western Reserve University, the first AKA graduate chapter in the sorority's history; and

WHEREAS, Claire McLendon met her future husband, Frederick Earl McLendon Jr., while teaching third grade at Paul Revere Elementary School in Cleveland; after they married, they made their home in Chicago and raised their sons, Eric and Craig; and

WHEREAS, Claire McLendon continued her teaching career at Shoesmith Elementary School in Chicago, where she spent 34 years as a learning disabilities teacher, counselor, and assistant principal; through hard work and perseverance, and after becoming a single mother, she furthered her education, earning a Master of Education in Counseling and also in Administration and Supervision, as well as a principal certificate; and

WHEREAS, Claire McLendon served as president of Chums, Inc., as secretary of the Chicago Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., and as a member of the Afro-American Genealogical and Historical Society of Chicago; she formed many meaningful and lasting friendships while studying genealogy, and her unmatched love for genealogy resulted in tracing her family back for six generations; and

WHEREAS, Claire McLendon was a mother, musician, gardener, seamstress, and genealogist; she will be remembered as a gracious, intelligent, caring, funny, and generous woman whose fruitcakes and brownies were enjoyed by many; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Claire Nabors McLendon and extend our sincere condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Claire McLendon as an expression of our deepest sympathy.