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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Rev. Dr.
4Clifford Tyler, who passed away on November 19, 2023; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Rev. Tyler was born in Flint Hill, Virginia to
6Clifford Sr. and Annie Bell (Roberts) Tyler on August 31,
71924, the second oldest of seven siblings along with Lutitia
8Addison, James Tyler, Willia Mae Tyler, Georgia Chunn, Frances
9Graham, and Pauline Green; he attended elementary school in
10Flint Hill, and after seventh grade, he attended school in
11Manassas, Virginia; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Rev. Tyler returned home after school and worked
13with his father as a mechanic; he then moved to Pittsburgh,
14Pennsylvania and worked at American Steel & Wire; at the age of
1519, he and his cousin, James, enlisted in the United States
16Army on June 3, 1943; he served in the Air Force as an aviation
17engineer during World War II and was honorably discharged on
18February 19, 1946; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Rev. Tyler returned to the state of Virginia,
20where he later met and married Bertha Alsberry; he became
21father to her three children, Francis, Ruth, and Henry; he
22moved his family to Chicago in 1953; one of his first jobs was

 

 

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1working with Perillo Automotives; he then became a mechanic
2for the United States Post Office; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Rev. Tyler answered the call to ministry in 1957;
4prior to going into ministry, he served as a deacon at his
5church; he was asked to be the assistant pastor at First
6Timothy Missionary Baptist Church in 1958; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Rev. Tyler met Lenora Mason when they both served
8as delegates at the Progressive National Baptist Convention;
9they married on December 4, 1960 and had two daughters, Alisa
10and Sheila; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Rev. Tyler was installed as pastor of First
12Timothy on April 28, 1968; he graduated from the Moody Bible
13Institute in 1972 with a bachelor's degree in theology, and he
14worked as a training and development coordinator in the
15Practical Christian Ministries Department; eventually, he
16became an instructor at Moody; he received a master's degree
17in education from Northeastern University in Chicago and
18continued his studies at Northern Baptist Theological
19Seminary; he left his full-time position with the Moody Bible
20Institute in 1981 to become the full-time pastor of First
21Timothy Baptist Church; he was installed on January 26, 1982;
22and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Rev. Tyler received an honorary doctorate from
2the Chicago Baptist Institute (CBI); during his more than 20
3years of working at CBI, he served as a instructor, trustee,
4board chairman, vice president, and president; he also served
5as a chaplain for the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center;
6and
 
7    WHEREAS, Rev. Tyler married Lois Scott in 2002; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Rev. Tyler's ministries extended to St. Louis,
9Wisconsin, Florida, Nebraska, Virginia, New York, Trinidad,
10and Kenya; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Rev. Tyler was proud of his Native American
12heritage; he served on the board of directors for the
13Christian Indian Ministries and the Native American Bible
14Academy in Ringold, Oklahoma; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Rev. Tyler married Lela Hicks in October of 2004;
16and
 
17    WHEREAS, Rev. Tyler held many leadership positions at the
18state and national level, which included, president of the
19Progressive Baptist State Convention of Illinois, organizer
20and president of the Department of State Presidents of the
21Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC), and president

 

 

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1of the PNBC Midwest Region Congress of Christian Education;
2his professional affiliations included, the Chicago Baptist
3Association, the Baptist Minister's Union of Chicago, the
4Baptist Pastors Conference, the Progressive Baptist District
5Association, the Baptist State Convention of Illinois, Inc.,
6the Union District Baptist Association, the Evangelical
7Theological Society, and the Light Bearers Association of
8America, Inc.; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Rev. Tyler became pastor emeritus upon retiring
10in 2013, after 45 years of serving as pastor; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Rev. Tyler received numerous awards for
12leadership and dedicated services; he loved to cook, garden,
13read his Bible, fish, and hunt; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Rev. Tyler was preceded in death by his parents,
15his wives, his brothers, his sisters, and two stepchildren;
16and
 
17    WHEREAS, Rev. Tyler is survived by his daughters, Alisa,
18and Sheila; his stepdaughter, Ruth; his sister, Pauline; his
19grandchildren, Robert Jr. (Vondee), Kawiana, Jamelle
20(Derrick), Arianna, Morriah, and Shannon; four
21great-grandchildren; the First Timothy church family; and
22numerous relatives and friends whom he loved dearly;

 

 

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1therefore, be it
 
2    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
3HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
4we mourn the passing of Rev. Dr. Clifford Tyler and extend our
5sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew
6and loved him; and be it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
8presented to the family of Rev. Tyler as an expression of our
9deepest sympathy.