Full Text of SR0941 95th General Assembly
SR0941 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 |
| learn of the death of
LaClaire Lissetta Jones Richards, who | 4 |
| passed away on November 1, 2008; and
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| WHEREAS, LaClaire Jones Richards was born in Pine Bluff, | 6 |
| Arkansas on January 9, 1931; her family moved to Kansas City, | 7 |
| Kansas when she was an infant; and
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| WHEREAS, LaClaire Jones Richards received her bachelor's | 9 |
| degree from National College in Kansas City, Kansas, her | 10 |
| master's degree in Social Work from the University of Kansas in | 11 |
| Lawrence, Kansas, and performed postgraduate work at Columbia | 12 |
| University in New York; she was also a diplomate in Clinical | 13 |
| Social Work and was a certified gerontologist; and
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| WHEREAS, LaClaire Jones Richards had a long and | 15 |
| distinguished career in social work; her professional career, | 16 |
| which began in 1956, included positions at the Hastings State | 17 |
| Hospital in Hastings, Nebraska, the VA Medical Center in | 18 |
| Knoxville, Iowa, the Mental Health Institute in Cherokee, Iowa, | 19 |
| and the VA Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, from | 20 |
| which she retired in 1996; and
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| WHEREAS, LaClaire Jones Richards' teaching experiences |
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| included mentoring students from the University of Iowa School | 2 |
| of Medicine in Iowa City, Iowa, the College of Osteopathic | 3 |
| Medicine in Des Moines, Iowa, South Dakota State University in | 4 |
| Brookings, South Dakota, Central College in Pella, Iowa, the | 5 |
| University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota, and | 6 |
| Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where she | 7 |
| taught Minority/Black Studies; she also served as a field | 8 |
| instructor for graduate students for the University of Missouri | 9 |
| in Columbia, Missouri, the University of Iowa in Iowa City, | 10 |
| Iowa, and the Augustana/Sioux Falls College Joint Social Work | 11 |
| Program in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and
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| WHEREAS, LaClaire Jones Richards was an active member of | 13 |
| her community; she served on the boards of the Visiting Nurses | 14 |
| Association, YWCA, and NAACP, where she was the education chair | 15 |
| and actively worked in civil rights issues; she also worked | 16 |
| with minority inmates at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in | 17 |
| Sioux Falls, South Dakota; she was named President of the | 18 |
| Nebraska Association of Hospital Social Workers in 1959, | 19 |
| President of the South Dakota Chapter of the National | 20 |
| Association of Social Workers in 1981, and South Dakota Social | 21 |
| Worker of the Year in 1983; she also was awarded a medal for | 22 |
| having been the only 50-year member of the National Association | 23 |
| of Social Workers in South Dakota; and
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| WHEREAS, LaClaire Jones Richards loved singing and reading |
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| her Bible; she was a member of her church choir and also sang | 2 |
| with the South Dakota Symphony Choir; she was an active member | 3 |
| in her church's programs, having served as a Ministries | 4 |
| Deaconess and in the AWANA program; and
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| WHEREAS, LaClaire Jones Richards was preceded in death by | 6 |
| her parents, Artie and Geraldine Jones; her brothers, Artie Jr. | 7 |
| and Alva; and her sisters, Evelyn and Geraldine; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, LaClaire Jones Richards is survived by her husband | 9 |
| of 50 years, Dr. George Richards; her children, Leslie | 10 |
| Richards-Yellen (David N.); Dr. Lia Richards-Palmiter (Dr. | 11 |
| David J.), and Jorge (Lisa); and her eight grandchildren; and
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| WHEREAS, LaClaire Jones Richards will be remembered by all | 13 |
| who knew and loved her for her wonderful smile, her unequaled | 14 |
| kindness towards one and all, her deep faith, her great | 15 |
| compassion, and her tireless energy to improve the lives of | 16 |
| everyone she touched; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | 18 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 19 |
| her family and friends, the passing of LaClaire Lissetta Jones | 20 |
| Richards; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
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| presented to the family of LaClaire Jones Richards as an | 2 |
| expression of our sympathy.
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