093_SR0081

 
                                     LRB093 11266 HSS 12799 r

 1                          SENATE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, The members  of  the  Senate  of  the  State  of
 3    Illinois  were saddened to learn of the death of James Wesley
 4    DeShields on Saturday, February 15, 2003; and

 5        WHEREAS, Mr. DeShields was born on  October  2,  1915  to
 6    Frank Berlin DeShields and Burleanna Amanda Jones; he was the
 7    youngest  of  three  boys  and  five  girls;  he attended and
 8    graduated from the Garfield Elementary School and the Lincoln
 9    Junior and Senior High Schools; and

10        WHEREAS,  Mr.  DeShields  attended  the   University   of
11    Illinois and graduated with a bachelor's degree in education;
12    he  was  initiated  into  Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. in
13    1944; he served his country as a Private First Class  in  the
14    United States Army and was honorably discharged; and

15        WHEREAS,  Mr. DeShields married Nancy Fern Boyd on August
16    7, 1941 in Danville; he taught school from 1947  to  1965  at
17    Carver  School  on "The Hill" and later taught in the Project
18    Conquest Reading Program-Title  1  Project  as  a  monitoring
19    teacher  under the direction of Mrs. Bettye Spann; he retired
20    in June of 1981 after 34 years of service; and

21        WHEREAS, Mr. DeShields was a member of St.  Paul  Baptist
22    Church for over 50 years; he served as a trustee for the Star
23    Church  Aid  Society  as well as treasurer of finance, and he
24    was  the  organizer  and  chairman  of  the  Benevolent  Fund
25    Committee for many years; he served as superintendent of  the
26    Church  Sunday  School  from  1965  through 1985, and when he
27    retired was named Superintendent Emeritus; and

28        WHEREAS, Mr. DeShields will be remembered as  a  man  who
29    loved  God  and  reflected  that love in the way he lived his
30    life; his passing has been deeply felt by all who  knew  him,
31    especially  his  wife, Nancy Fern; his daughter, Joyce (Gene)
 
                            -2-      LRB093 11266 HSS 12799 r
 1    DeShields-Moore; his  grandchildren,  Monica  Sykes,  Candace
 2    Dunlap,  Kerri Stewart, Christina Mullins, and James Mullins;
 3    his   great-grandchildren,   Brianna,   Arielle,   Christian,
 4    Barrington, Lena,  and  Derrius;  and  his  host  of  nieces,
 5    nephews,  cousins, friends, and his church family; therefore,
 6    be it

 7        RESOLVED, BY  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  NINETY-THIRD  GENERAL
 8    ASSEMBLY  OF  THE  STATE  OF ILLINOIS, that together with his
 9    family, friends, and all who knew and loved him, we mourn the
10    passing of James Wesley DeShields  and  extend  to  them  our
11    deepest sympathy; and be it further

12        RESOLVED,  That  a  suitable  copy  of this resolution be
13    presented to the family of James DeShields as a token of  our
14    sincere condolences.