SR0426 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Juliette Marie Ferguson, who passed away on October 1, 2009; and

WHEREAS, Juliette Ferguson was born on January 15, 1965, in Chicago; she was the third daughter of Henry Wordsworth Ferguson and Gwendolyn Roddy Ferguson; and

WHEREAS, Juliette Ferguson attended John T. Pirie and Arthur Dixon Elementary Schools; she then attended Whitney Young High School, where she graduated with honors in 1981; after high school, she attended Northwestern University, where she earned her undergraduate degree with distinction in 1986, and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she earned her juris doctorate degree in 1989; and

WHEREAS, Juliette Ferguson participated in numerous extracurricular activities during her academic career; she was a co-captain of the cheerleading team, a member of the Student Government Association and the National Honor Society, and the vice-president of the Honors Club; she was voted Homecoming Queen and Most Ambitious during her senior year of high school; she won the Miss Black Chicago Beauty Pageant in 1986; she also served as National Vice-President of the Black American Law Students Association at the University of Michigan; and

WHEREAS, Juliette Ferguson worked for noted black journalist Vernon Jarrett during the early days of her career; in 2003, she became the Associate General Counsel for the City Colleges of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Juliette Ferguson was very passionate about theater and the performing arts; she appeared in productions of the Buffalo Theater Ensemble, The African Company, and the ETA Creative Arts Association; she earned a Jefferson Citation nomination in 1991 for her performance as Corky in Stoops; she participated in dance classes at the Lou Conte and Joel Hall dance studios; she performed in numerous voice-overs and television commercials; in 2008, she starred in the independent film Self Determination, which was shown at film festivals in Milwaukee and Los Angeles; and

WHEREAS, Juliette Ferguson is survived by her mother, Gwendolyn; her sister, Melanie Ferguson Lobdell; her brother-in-law, Willie Lobdell; her aunt, Harriette Roddy Brown; her nieces, Nicole Parrott, R'Mani Gamble, and Wendy Lobdell; her nephews, David Moss and Willie Lobdell; her cousins, Madelynne Brown, Sharmon Wilkinson, Brian and Christopher Wilkinson, Lisa Brown Tribbett, Charles Tribbett, Jillian Tribbett, Charles Tribbett, Jr., Jason Tribbett, Bert Roddy III, Bert Roddy IV, Sydney Roddy, Sharon Gill, Tonese Gill-Woodie, Amber Woodie, Tshaye Taylor, Lauretta Travis, Albert Travis III, Albert Travis IV, Adam Travis, Allison Travis, Mariana Mason, and Sister Mary Annunciata; and

WHEREAS, Juliette Ferguson will be remembered by all who knew and loved her as a warm, nurturing, articulate, compassionate, and inspiring person who enriched the lives of everyone she met; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with her family and friends, the passing of Juliette Marie Ferguson; and be it further

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