HJ0051 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0051 LRB094 12105 CSA 45395 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the General Assembly of the State of Illinois were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Mildred Yvonne Fitzgerrell, widow of State Representative Wayne Fitzgerrell, on April 19, 2005 in Sesser; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Fitzgerrell was born September 1, 1913, in Sesser, to Howard Burgess Young and Daisy Violetetti Bartlow Young Tackitt; she graduated from Goode-Barren Township High School; and

WHEREAS, She married Wayne Fitzgerrell on March 4, 1942, in St. Louis; after his untimely death on May 11, 1965, the Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park was named in his memory; she retired from the U.S. Postal Service in 1973 after 38 years of service; and

WHEREAS, She was a very community-minded person who was always willing to help; she truly believed in education and wanted to see the young people of the community have a chance to further their education; and

WHEREAS, She served as Worthy Matron of the Mary V Chapter of Eastern Star; she was a member and president of the Sesser Woman's Club; she was a member of the Illinois Women's Federation Club, the American Legion Auxiliary, the Sesser Senior Citizens, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Rend Lake Foundation Board where she established an endowment fund to provide an annual scholarship in honor of her late husband, and the Goode-Barren Historical Society; she was a member and Sunday school teacher at First United Methodist Church of Sesser; she was instrumental in compiling and publishing the 1976 Bicentennial history of Sesser and renovating the Sesser Historic Opera House; she received the Golden Deeds Award from the Sesser Area Chamber of Commerce in 1984; she received the Presidential Award from the Rend Lake Foundation Board; she donated a bicycle to the St. Jude Bike-a-thon each year; and she worked diligently with the fund-raising for the remodeling of the Goode Township Community Building; and

WHEREAS, The passing of Mildred Yvonne Fitzgerrell is felt by all who knew and loved her, especially her step-nephews, Steve and Patty Young, Mike and Vergie Young, and Dennis and Paige Young; her sister-in-law, Helen Young; her aunt, Mary Bartlow; her cousins, Herb Sr. and Billie Winemiller, Herb Jr. and Gwen Winemiller and daughters, Tiffany Winemiller and Misti Winemiller; her sister-in-law, Josephine Fitzgerrell Junkins; her nephew, Richard Fitzgerrell, son of William Fitzgerrell; and her special caretakers, Margaret Goessman and Verna Queen; and

WHEREAS, She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and her stepbrother, Roy Odle Young; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that even as her death is mourned, we give thanks for the blessing of Mildred Yvonne Fitzgerrell's life and extend our sincere and heartfelt condolences to her family, friends, and community; and be it further

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