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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 John W.
4Rogers, Sr. of Chicago, who passed away on January 21, 2014;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, John Rogers, Sr. was born in 1918 in Knoxville,
7Tennessee; he graduated from Tilden Technical High School in
8Chicago and earned his bachelor's degree in education in 1941
9from what is now Chicago State University; he earned his
10pilot's license and enlisted in the United States Army Air
11Forces; and
 
12    WHEREAS, John Rogers, Sr. was a member of the famed
13Tuskegee Airmen during World War II; he was part of the 99th
14Pursuit Squadron and was one of the original 28 airmen to go
15oversees; he flew 120 missions in Europe and achieved the rank
16of Captain; he was a part of a group of approximately 300
17Tuskegee Airmen to be honored with the Congressional Gold
18Medal, and in January of 2012, he was part of a group that went
19to the White House as a special guest of President Obama to
20view the movie "Red Tails", which tells their story; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Following the war, John Rogers, Sr. attended the
22University of Chicago Law School on the GI Bill; he married

 

 

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1Jewel Stradford in 1946 and graduated law school in 1948;
2together he and his wife started a law firm; later he joined
3Earl L. Neal & Associates (now Neal & Leroy) and worked for
4them from 1974 until 1977; in 1968 he met his future wife,
5Gwendolyn; the couple dated for 33 years and married in 2001;
6and
 
7    WHEREAS, John Rogers, Sr. was appointed an associate judge
8for Cook County in May of 1977 and eventually assigned to the
9Juvenile Division; he retired from the bench in 1998; in 2012,
10the University of Chicago Law School named the school's
11Director of Admissions office after Mr. Rogers and his first
12wife; and
 
13    WHEREAS, John Rogers, Sr. was preceded in death by his
14parents and by his first wife, Jewel; and
 
15    WHEREAS, John Rogers, Sr. is survived by his wife,
16Gwendolyn; his son, John W. Rogers, Jr.; and his granddaughter,
17Victoria Rogers; therefore, be it
 
18    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
19NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
20we mourn the passing of John W. Rogers, Sr., and extend our
21sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew
22and loved him; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2presented to the family of John Rogers, Sr. as an expression of
3our deepest sympathy.