HR0244LRB098 11718 MST 44562 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Donald L.
4Duster of Chicago, who passed away on March 11, 2013; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Donald Duster and his brothers and sisters all
6achieved either the first or second academic ranking in their
7high school classes; he went on to study math at the University
8of Illinois and earned a master of business arts from DePaul
9University; he served in the U.S. Army as a lieutenant from
101953-1954 in Texas and Arizona; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Donald Duster began working at Spiegel in the
12mid-1950s, a company that was known for welcoming African
13Americans at a time when many corporate doors were not open to
14them; in 1962, he joined ComEd as a financial analyst and
15except for a small period when Governor James Thompson brought
16him to the State's Department of Business and Economic
17Development, which he ran from 1977 to 1979, he worked at ComEd
18till 1987 when he became assistant executive director of
19Chicago Commons, a non-profit agency; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Later in life, Donald Duster, began working
21towards the non-violent ending of apartheid in South Africa; he
22traveled there as a member of the United States-South Africa

 

 

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1Leader Exchange Program in the 1970; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Donald Duster had a passion for photography; he
3was a minimalist and would travel the globe carrying only a
4small suitcase; when he found something he liked he stuck with
5it; he would eat the same soup-and-salad combo for lunch every
6day he worked for ComEd and was a member of the same book club
7for 25 years; when his black Toyota Avalon broke down after 20
8years, he bought another one; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Donald Duster was the grandson of anti-lynching
10crusader Ida B. Wells; he worked to support a monument in her
11honor at 37th and Langley near her home; he was an active
12member of the Ida B. Wells Memorial Foundation, and he
13presented scholarships to students at Ms. Well's alma mater,
14Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Donald Duster is survived by his wife of 50 years,
16Maxine; his sons, David and Daniel; his daughter, Michelle
17Duster; his brother, Troy Duster; and his sister Alfreda
18Ferrell; therefore, be it
 
19    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
20NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
21we mourn the passing of Donald Duster, and we extend our
22sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew

 

 

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1and loved him; and be it further
 
2    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
3presented to the family of Donald Duster as an expression of
4our deepest sympathy.