Full Text of HR0800 099th General Assembly
HR0800 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Rev. | 4 | | Allen Foster, Jr., who passed away on August 1, 2015; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Allen Foster, Jr. was born on February 6, 1959 in | 6 | | Chicago, the third child of the union of Jessie Mae
(nee | 7 | | Wilson) and Allen Foster, Sr.; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, As a child, Allen Foster, Jr. had an insatiable | 9 | | thirst for knowledge and loved to read the World Book | 10 | | Encyclopedia and he readily reported to his family that he was | 11 | | the "smartest" kid in the class; he graduated from Horace Mann
| 12 | | Elementary School and South Shore High School in Chicago; he | 13 | | received his associate degree from Prairie State College; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, After graduating from high school, Allen Foster, | 15 | | Jr. joined the United States Air Force, serving from 1976 to
| 16 | | 1983; he was honorably discharged with the rank of Staff | 17 | | Sergeant; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, On December 19, 1979, while stationed at Keeler | 19 | | Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, Allen Foster, Jr. | 20 | | accepted the
Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior; he was called to | 21 | | the ministry in
1980; he was an avid student of the Bible
and |
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| 1 | | the great theologians; he was extremely well-read and an | 2 | | extraordinary preacher; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, In his 30 years of congregational ministry, Allen | 4 | | Foster, Jr. served as associate minister at various churches,
| 5 | | including Village Bible Church (Park Forest), Christ Temple | 6 | | Community Church (Gary, Indiana), Christ Temple Cathedral
| 7 | | (Chicago), and First Baptist Church (Chicago); he joined | 8 | | Merrill Avenue Baptist Church in 1996, where he served as
| 9 | | Sunday school teacher, evangelism and discipleship leader, | 10 | | Chairman of the Mission Department, and Divorce Care
Leader; he | 11 | | also headed 2 missionary teams to England and Haiti; in 2009, | 12 | | he was ordained by the late Rev. Austin
Smith, Jr. of | 13 | | Compassion Baptist Church (formally Merrill Avenue); while | 14 | | there, he served as an associate and interim
pastor before | 15 | | being elected as senior pastor on December 8, 2013; he | 16 | | sincerely loved his church family and devoted
himself to their | 17 | | care; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Allen Foster, Jr.'s keen knowledge of American | 19 | | politics, socio-economics, and world views, both inspired and
| 20 | | challenged others to learn more about the world in which they | 21 | | lived; he was a political pundit to many; his lively commentary
| 22 | | always gave sound perspective on many subjects; and | 23 | | WHEREAS, Allen Foster, Jr. married Audrey Wesley on August |
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| 1 | | 4, 1990; their children, Allen III, Jaime, and Mary were | 2 | | blessed
with a devoted father; over the years, he and Audrey | 3 | | loved and cared for many others; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Allen Foster, Jr. was employed by Peoples Gas | 5 | | Light & Coke Company (Integrys) in Chicago from 1985 to 2014; | 6 | | he
retired from the Gas Operation Department as Senior Service | 7 | | Specialist No. 1; he formed both loyal and lasting
friendships | 8 | | in every area of his life; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Allen Foster, Jr. was preceded in death by his | 10 | | parents; his grandfather, Jessie; and his aunt, Faynell; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Allen Foster, Jr. is survived by his wife, Audrey; | 12 | | his son, Allen III (and his mother, Patricia Foster Cox); his | 13 | | daughters, Jaime and Mary (Kenny); his siblings, Kim, Renee, | 14 | | Tanya (Kurtray), and Mark; his grandmother, Gertrude; his | 15 | | grandchildren, Antonio (A.J.), Jeremy, Amari, Allen, Aiden, | 16 | | and Ava; his brother-in-law, John (Kimberly); his | 17 | | mother-in-law, Maggie; his father-in-law, John; his aunts and | 18 | | uncles, Joann, Loretta, Debra, and Jerry; and his nieces and | 19 | | nephews, Justin, Kyle, Demi, Constance, Chanelle, Stephaney, | 20 | | Kyle, Dylan, Reagan, and Ryan; therefore, be it
| 21 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 22 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we |
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| 1 | | mourn the death of Rev. Allen Foster, Jr. and recognize his | 2 | | life, commitments, and achievements; and be it further
| 3 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 4 | | presented to the family of Allen Foster, Jr. as an expression | 5 | | of our deepest sympathy.
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