SR1104LRB100 15309 ALS 30805 r

1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Melvin J. "Mel" Wilson of Oak Park, who
4passed away on April 20, 2017, at the age of 74; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Mel Wilson was born in Wichita, Kansas to Leonard
6Lee and Levina Wilson on July 9, 1942; he later moved to
7California; he studied at the Illinois Institute of Technology,
8where he graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Architecture in
91965; upon graduation, he served in the Peace Corps in Tunisia
10from 1965-1968; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Mel Wilson moved to Oak Park, Illinois with his
12then-wife, Esther Parada, and their son, Adam, in 1977; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Mel Wilson worked at the Chicago architecture firm
14Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and at the office of famed
15modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe; he worked with
16Fuilawa Conterato Lohan Associates until 1984; he also worked
17at the Windy City Times as a proofreader, typesetter, and
18writer; he later taught at the Illinois Institute of Technology
19and at the Art Institute of Chicago; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Mel Wilson met Nathan Linsk, a University of
21Illinois at Chicago Professor of Social Work, at a meeting of

 

 

SR1104- 2 -LRB100 15309 ALS 30805 r

1the Chicago Gay and Married Men's Association in 1983; both had
2recently come out; shortly after, Mel and Nathan became life
3partners; they married with great joy in Washington D.C. in
42010; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Mel Wilson, along with Nathan Linsk and the late
6Bryan Findlay, founded the Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay
7Association (OPALGA), a community advocacy group, in 1989; the
8founding meeting was also attended by Rebekah Levin, who was
9heavily involved with Lavender Banquet, a social support group
10for area lesbians; he and Rebekah Levin then teamed as
11co-chairs of OPALGA to reach out to government groups, the
12police department, and community organizations; they worked to
13get candidates in local municipal elections to declare
14positions on gay and lesbian issues; he successfully lobbied
15the Village of Oak Park to include anti-discriminatory language
16into its Human Rights Ordinance and also urged the Village
17Board to create a Domestic Partnership Registry for same-sex
18couples; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Mel Wilson chaired the Parent Human Relations
20Committee at Oak Park and River Forest High School, where his
21son was a student; he also served on the Oak Park Design
22Commission and was a board member at Community Response, a
23local AIDS organization; and
 

 

 

SR1104- 3 -LRB100 15309 ALS 30805 r

1    WHEREAS, Mel Wilson was known by his friends and family to
2have a gentle sense of humor and the ability to contextualize
3his advocacy work by drawing on his own personal experiences
4and history; he was soft spoken, self-effacing, and placed
5great value on developing a committed and compassionate
6community; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Mel Wilson was preceded in death by his parents;
8and his brothers, Claude and Everett Wilson; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Mel Wilson is survived by his husband and partner
10of 32 years, Nathan; his son, Adam (Renee) Wilson; his
11stepdaughter, Charna Linsk (Angel McDonald); and his brothers,
12Darrel Wilson and Loren Wilson; therefore, be it
 
13    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL
14ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
15Melvin J. "Mel" Wilson and extend our sincere condolences to
16his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
17further
 
18    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
19presented to the family of Mel Wilson as an expression of our
20deepest sympathy.