Full Text of SR0728 97th General Assembly
SR0728 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of
Willie L. May, who passed away on March | 4 | | 28, 2012; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Willie May was born on November 11, 1936, in | 6 | | Tuscaloosa, Alabama; his parents were Louise Higgins and Bennie | 7 | | May; he married Norma Jean Butler on July 5, 1964; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Willie May moved to the Chicago area at an early | 9 | | age and grew up in Robbins; he attended Blue Island Community | 10 | | High School (now Eisenhower High School), where he participated | 11 | | in various sports; in 1955, he led the school to an Illinois | 12 | | State Championship and won gold medals in the 120-yard high | 13 | | hurdles, the 180-yard low hurdles, and the 880-yard relay; he | 14 | | subsequently attended the university of Colorado before | 15 | | graduating from Indiana University, where he won 7 Big Ten | 16 | | championships in the hurdles from 1957 to 1959; he also earned | 17 | | his master's degree in physical education from Indiana | 18 | | University in 1966; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Willie May competed in the 1960 Olympic Games in | 20 | | Rome, Italy, where he won the silver medal in the 110-meter | 21 | | hurdles after a photo finish; he also won the silver medal at | 22 | | the 1963 Pan-American Games; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Willie May began his long and distinguished career | 2 | | in education during the 1960s; in 1967, he began teaching at | 3 | | Evanston Township High School (ETHS); while at ETHS, he served | 4 | | as both a teacher and as an assistant boys track and field | 5 | | coach; during his tenure as assistant coach, the school won | 6 | | State titles in 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1974; after taking over | 7 | | as head coach in 1975, he led the Evanston Wildcats to 26 | 8 | | conference titles, including 24 consecutive titles, from 1976 | 9 | | to 1999, as well as 5 IHSA State trophies; in 1983, he became | 10 | | the first African-American athletic director at ETHS, a | 11 | | position he held until his retirement from the teacher and | 12 | | athletic director positions in 2000; after his retirement, he | 13 | | continued to serve as an assistant coach at ETHS while | 14 | | participating in numerous church activities; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Willie May was inducted into the Indiana | 16 | | University Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000, the | 17 | | Illinois Track and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of | 18 | | Fame in 2007, and the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame in 2010; | 19 | | he was also named one of the most notable athletes in the | 20 | | history of Blue Island (Eisenhower) High School and is a member | 21 | | of the school's hall of fame; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, As a child, Willie May attended Wheeler Chapel CME | 23 | | Church in Robbins, where he accepted Christ at an early age; he |
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| 1 | | later became a devoted member of St. James AME Church in | 2 | | Chicago for over 30 years; at St. James, he served as the Head | 3 | | Usher of the Usher Board and a member of the church's Trustee | 4 | | Board; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Willie May is survived by his loving wife, Norma | 6 | | May; his daughters, Kristian May (Paul) Stewart and Karen May; | 7 | | his grandsons, Myles Stewart and Chase Stewart; his | 8 | | sister-in-law, Pearlene Cunningham; his brother-in-law, John | 9 | | Butler III; his aunt, Anna Weatherspoon; his uncles, James | 10 | | (Jean) Young, Dock (Charlotte) Young, and Isaac Eaves; his 2 | 11 | | nephews and one niece; and his many cousins, other family | 12 | | members, and friends; therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 14 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 15 | | his family and friends, the passing of Willie L. May; and be it | 16 | | further
| 17 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 18 | | presented to the family of Willie May as an expression of our | 19 | | sympathy.
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