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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Sylvia Dawn Jones Walton-Alston, who
4passed away on May 24, 2019; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston was born in Chicago on August
630, 1944 and raised by her parents, Rivers and Alma Jones, and
7her stepfather, John Powell; she attended Forrestville
8Elementary School and graduated from Jean Baptiste Pointe
9DuSable High School in 1962, the first high school built for
10African Americans in the City of Chicago; she then attended Los
11Angeles Community College; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston returned to Chicago and
13spent 34 years inspiring learners and leaders; she worked as
14the assistant librarian at Dunbar Vocational, Richards, and
15Spaulding high schools and then spent most of her career as the
16assistant librarian at DuSable High School; she retired in 2004
17but continued volunteering at the school, often driving
18graduating seniors to college when they had no other means of
19getting there; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston married and later divorced
21Leo Walton and then married the love of her life, Wilmer Perry
22Alston, on March 15, 1969; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston was a member of St. Elizabeth
2Catholic Church, the oldest Black Catholic parish in Chicago;
3she served as a member and president of the Parish Council; she
4organized clothing drives and dress sales, the food pantry,
5Breakfast with Santa, and the church bazaar; she became known
6for arranging fundraising trips to local casinos; she led the
7charge to build a new church in 1987 after the old building was
8destroyed by fire in 1930 and the congregation had spent 57
9years worshipping in the church's gymnasium; she was recognized
10by Pope John Paul II and was named an honorary Nun of the
11Blessed Sacrament; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston enjoyed attending functions
13with family and friends, dressing up and going out, and staying
14current on the latest technology; she was a member of the
15Forrestville Block Club and the Coalition to Save DuSable; she
16also advocated to save St. Elizabeth Catholic School, where one
17of her daughters and most of her grandchildren attended; she
18was a longtime member and the corresponding secretary of the
19DuSable Alumni Coalition and a top fundraiser for the United
20Negro College Fund; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston was preceded in death by her
22parents; her stepfather; her daughter, Kellie; and her husband,
23Wilmer Perry Alston; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Sylvia Walton-Alston is survived by her sister,
2Nicolette Jones-Turner; her daughters, Brandie (Earl) and
3Courtney (Marvis); her stepdaughter, Wilma Theresa (Robert)
4Thorn; her grandchildren, Brandon and Elizabeth Miller, Ashley
5Patton, Kourtney and Dakota Alston, Alston Wilson, Shanell
6McMoris, Mark Lowe, Olivia Morris, and Romel, Rashun, Cassiana,
7and Ratisha Cotton; her special nieces, Divina Alston, Valerie
8Hunter, and Verlane Franklin; her special nephews, Walter Lee
9Turner and Emmery Burnette; her great-grandchildren, Madison
10Washington and Varnell Cotton; and numerous other family
11members, her neighborhood family, her DuSable family, and her
12church family; therefore, be it
 
13    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
14ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
15Sylvia Dawn Jones Walton-Alston and extend our sincere
16condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved
17her; and be it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
19presented to the family of Sylvia Walton-Alston as an
20expression of our deepest sympathy.