HR0083 LRB096 10748 KXB 20936 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Dr. Larry
4 Hawkins, who passed away on January 30, 2009; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Larry Hawkins was born in Chicago in 1930; he
6 attended Douglass Elementary and graduated from Phillips High
7 School, where he was a star basketball player in 1948; he then
8 received his associate's degree from Wilson Junior College in
9 1950; and
 
10     WHEREAS, After serving in the United States Army from 1953
11 to 1955, Larry Hawkins earned his bachelor's degree from George
12 Williams College in 1956 and earned master's degrees from
13 George Williams College and Roosevelt University; in 1986, he
14 earned his doctorate degree from the University of Illinois;
15 and
 
16     WHEREAS, Larry Hawkins had a long and distinguished career
17 in education; he began his career in 1956 at Carver High
18 School, where he was hired as a physical education teacher and
19 was appointed head basketball coach; going far beyond
20 basketball, he taught his students life skills and the
21 importance of getting good grades, going to college, and
22 succeeding in life; in 1963, he led the boys basketball team at

 

 

HR0083 - 2 - LRB096 10748 KXB 20936 r

1 Carver to the State championship, with the team's historic
2 victory marking the first time that a Chicago public school had
3 won the State championship in the New Assembly Hall; he also
4 coached volleyball at Hyde Park High School for many years
5 prior to his retirement from the Chicago Public Schools in
6 1999; and
 
7     WHEREAS, In 1968, Larry Hawkins became the Director of the
8 University of Chicago's Office of Special Programs, a program
9 that encourages and assists educationally disadvantaged
10 children to succeed in elementary and high school, graduate,
11 and complete college; and
 
12     WHEREAS, In 1972, Larry Hawkins founded the Institute for
13 Athletics and Education, a group that provides advocacy and
14 support to the community in an effort to maintain the balance
15 between sports and education in a way that enhances the
16 positive social and academic development of student athletes;
17 and
 
18     WHEREAS, In 1984, Larry Hawkins became the Executive
19 Director of Big Buddies Youth Services, Inc., an organization
20 founded in 1949 to assist the community with the prevention of
21 juvenile delinquency; under Dr. Hawkins' leadership, the
22 organization expanded to provide educational, social,
23 cultural, charitable, and community services for disadvantaged

 

 

HR0083 - 3 - LRB096 10748 KXB 20936 r

1 youth and their families as a comprehensive approach to
2 delinquency prevention; and
 
3     WHEREAS, Larry Hawkins was the founder of the Parent
4 Athletic Support Team and the National Parents Committee on
5 Youth Sports; he was a member of numerous organizations,
6 including the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education
7 and Recreation, Concerned Coaches of Chicago, the Educational
8 Advisory Committee of the Urban League, the U.S. Olympic
9 Committee on Youth Identification, the Joint Committee on
10 Elementary and Secondary School Sports - State of Illinois, and
11 the First Congressional District District Council; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Larry Hawkins was the author of numerous
13 publications, including Sports Programs Should Reach Out To
14 Girls, Too (1990), Media and Sports in the Urban High School
15 (1987), Hard Times for School Sports (1986), and A Training
16 Program for Teacher/Coaches (1986); therefore, be it
 
17     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
18 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
19 mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Dr.
20 Larry Hawkins; and be it further
 
21     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
22 presented to the family of Dr. Larry Hawkins as an expression

 

 

HR0083 - 4 - LRB096 10748 KXB 20936 r

1 of our sympathy.