HR0699 LRB096 15143 GRL 30200 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of John L.
4 Watson Sr., who passed away on August 30, 2009; and
 
5     WHEREAS, John Watson Sr. was born on May 15, 1948, in
6 Rondo, Arkansas; he was the son of Annie Bell and Wille B.
7 Watson; and
 
8     WHEREAS, John Watson Sr. grew up in Rondo, Arkansas, where
9 he worked alongside his parents in the fields; he attended Anna
10 Strong High School, where he played baseball, basketball, and
11 football; after graduating high school in 1965, he attended the
12 HBCU Arkansas AM&N (now the University of Arkansas at Pine
13 Bluff); in 1969, he moved to Chicago, where he married his
14 childhood sweetheart, Bobbie J. Watson; and
 
15     WHEREAS, John Watson Sr. tried to start several businesses
16 during his lifetime, including a trucking company; as his
17 family grew, however, he decided that, as a family man, he
18 needed a more settled profession; he then began working for
19 Reynolds Aluminum (now Alcoa), where he worked for over 30
20 years; during his tenure at Reynolds, he was well known as a
21 hard worker and ascended the ranks, progressing from a laborer
22 to a supervisor; and
 

 

 

HR0699 - 2 - LRB096 15143 GRL 30200 r

1     WHEREAS, John Watson Sr. is survived by his wife of almost
2 40 years, Bobbie Watson; his children, Dana Watson Carroll
3 (William), Tammi Watson Eastlin (Maurice), Linda Watson Edgar
4 (Anthony), and John L. Watson Jr.; and his grandchildren, John
5 L. Watson III, LaShaundria Z. Watson, Mia F. Eastlin, Juwan L.
6 Watson, and Avery Claire T. Carroll; and
 
7     WHEREAS, John Watson Sr. will be remembered by all who knew
8 and loved him as a funny and wise man who loved his family most
9 and his blues next; therefore, be it
 
10     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
11 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
12 mourn, along with s family and friends, the passing of John L.
13 Watson Sr.; and be it further
 
14     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
15 presented to the family of John Watson Sr. as an expression of
16 our sympathy.