SR2298 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR2298 LRB099 23576 GRL 51063 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Hester Barbara Nelson Suggs, who passed away on October 2, 2016; and

WHEREAS, Hester Suggs was born on April 30, 1928 in Champaign; her parents were Cecil D. and Carrie Nelson; she married Raymond Eugene Suggs in June of 1948; and

WHEREAS, Hester Suggs attended Gregory Elementary School and Champaign Junior High; in 1945, she graduated from Champaign High School, where she was active in the Girls Athletic Association, the Glee Club, and the Vocalettes; she entered the University of Illinois in the fall of 1945; and

WHEREAS, Hester Suggs led a life committed to providing exemplary education to children for over 30 years and service to the Champaign-Urbana community; in the late 1940s, she served as a teacher in the Douglass Center Kindergarten Association, an independent, community-based organization that provided early childhood education for African-American children in Champaign-Urbana during the time of a segregated school system; in the early 1950s, she concentrated on raising her family and assisting her husband with his plastering and photography businesses; and

WHEREAS, In 1961, Hester Suggs resumed her career as an educator, serving as the afternoon kindergarten teacher at Booker T. Washington School; after earning her bachelor's degree in elementary education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1963, she completed her student teaching at Leal Elementary School in Urbana, where she was later employed; after earning her master's degree in elementary education at the University of Illinois in 1967, she joined Champaign School District Unit 4 as a fifth grade teacher at Dr. Howard School; with the establishment of Project Creativity, the gifted program in Unit 4, she was designated as the teacher for gifted fifth grade students; her expertise was soon recognized and she served as a demonstration teacher for the Illinois State Board of Education, spending weekends conducting workshops in the area of gifted education for teachers across east central Illinois; and

WHEREAS, In 1971, Hester Suggs was selected as the principal of Booker T. Washington Elementary School in Champaign Unit 4; the school was established as a magnet program in partnership with the University of Illinois in the desegregation plan for Champaign schools; in collaboration with her staff, she created an innovative humanities and arts-based curriculum attracting students from all over the community; in 1980, she successfully secured a grant from the United States Department of Education to establish programs emphasizing foreign languages, music, cultural and performing arts, and interpretive thinking for children in kindergarten through fifth grade; the school hosted several artist-in-residence programs for dance, established an art design lab and foreign program, and earned a reputation as a premier magnet program and elementary education organization, pioneering a multi-disciplinary approach to learning; she retired from the school in 1993 after 22 years of service; and

WHEREAS, Following her retirement, Hester Suggs continued her community service volunteering with the local Illinois Retired Teachers Association and serving as a member of the Champaign County African-American History Committee; she was a lifelong member of Bethel AME Church of Champaign and was at one time a member of the Helping Hand Club and the choir; and

WHEREAS, In 1988, Hester Suggs received the Service Recognition Award for Administrators from the Illinois Alliance for Arts in Education recognizing her exemplary work in developing an arts and humanities-based curriculum that enhanced student academic performance at Booker T. Washington Magnet School; in 1989, she was recognized by the Illinois Congress of Parents and Teachers with an honorary life membership in appreciation for her service to children and youth; in 1997, she received the Booker T. Washington Award for education; in recognition for her commitment to humanities-based education, the Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation established the Hester Suggs Endowment Fund to provide grants that expand the Arts and Humanities for children in Champaign Unit 4; she was also the recipient of "A Living Legend" award from the Champaign County Section of the National Council of Negro Women in 2012; and

WHEREAS, Hester Suggs was a lifelong member of the Gamma Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., serving four terms as president for the graduate chapter of Epsilon Epsilon Omega and as a graduate adviser to Gamma; in 1997, she was accorded the designation of "Golden Soror" by the sorority; she was honored for "extraordinary sisterhood and exemplary service" to the chapter at the 2014 Centennial Celebration of the Gamma Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha; in September of 2015, she received the Winding Ivy Epsilon Epsilon Omega Living Legacy Award in recognition of her dedication to Alpha Kappa Alpha; and

WHEREAS, Hester Suggs served on the boards of the Community Foundation of Champaign County, Mercy Hospital, the Girls Club, and the Illini Rebounders; and

WHEREAS, Hester Suggs enjoyed cooking, arranging family dinners, gardening, sewing, painting, and University of Illinois football and basketball; and

WHEREAS, Hester Suggs was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond; her parents; and her brothers, Cecil D. Nelson Jr. and Earnest Nelson; and

WHEREAS, Hester Suggs is survived by her children, Barbara Elaine (Frederick) Mason, Danny Jerome (Catherine), and Ramona Gay (William) Winrow; her grandsons, William Winrow III, Mason James Reinhart-Suggs, Justin Paul Winrow, Raymond Nelson Winrow, Frederick Eugene Kwame Mason, Ryan Daniel Suggs, and Logan Patrick Suggs; her sisters, Eleanor Conrad, Estelle Merrifield, and Eunice Rivers; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, extended family members, and friends; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with her family and friends, mourn the passing of Hester Barbara Nelson Suggs; and be it further

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