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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate Vater Mae "Gran" Fite of
4Chicago on the occasion of her 100th birthday on September 28,
52014; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Vater Fite was born on September 28, 1914 in
7Carthage, Texas to the late Selma and Marvin Conners,
8affectionately known as Big Momma and Big Daddy; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Vater Fite's only brother, Leon "Uncle Leon"
10Conners, is 96 years of age and lives in Maywood with his
11family; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Vater Fite's older sister, Herese "Aunt B"
13Buckner, was a school teacher in the Chicago public schools and
14a classically trained singer who spread her faith and talent
15throughout the world at the behest of the Lutheran dioceses;
16Vater and Herese shared the same birthday and lived as
17bachelorettes in Oak Park until the ages of 89 and 91 when, in
182008, Herese fell ill and passed away; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Vater Fite's younger sister, the late Inez "Auntie
20Inez" Jones, retired as school teacher in their hometown and
21remained a lifelong resident of Carthage, Texas; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Vater Fite matriculated from Longview Elementary
2and Carthage High School (which only went up to the 7th grade)
3in 1926; during this time, she attended Mount Zion Christian
4Methodist Episcopal Church where she sang in the choir and
5taught Sunday school; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Vater Fite's first marriage was to JC Lilly in
71929; like so many in the depression, Vater and JC migrated
8north; they eventually made their way to California, where
9Vater was trained as a welder in the shipyards and worked as a
10welder during World War II; when the war ended and work became
11scarce, she returned to her children in Texas; she divorced and
12later married Mr. Fite, to whom she was happily and briefly
13married; upon his death, she joined her children and siblings
14in Maywood; she later moved to the Westside of Chicago, where
15she was employed with the State of Illinois as a caregiver
16until her retirement in 1979; she temporarily returned to Texas
17to care for her aging mother; upon her mother's death, Vater
18returned to Oak Park to live with her sister and to be close to
19her son and family; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Vater Fite is an active participant in the senior
21community of Oak Park; she became an artist at the age of 65
22and has many of her paintings and sculptures displayed
23throughout Oak Park and Chicago, as well as in the many homes

 

 

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1of her relatives all over the United States; she taught herself
2to play the violin at the age of 84; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Vater Fite is an avid reader and particularly a
4fan of murder mysteries and historical fiction; some of her
5favorite things are a good piece of beef, watching countless
6hours of baseball, the color blue, and her infamously loud and
7long discussions with her brother Leon on the phone; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Vater Fite is a sports enthusiast; though her
9first love is baseball, she has followed the exploits of her
10great-grandson, Evan Turner, on the basketball court and
11attended games throughout the country during his collegiate and
12professional NBA career; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Vater Fite has travelled throughout the United
14States and, after obtaining her passport at the tender age of
1597, she became a literal globetrotter, traveling to various
16locales annually on the family vacation until deciding to
17remain stateside this year; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Vater Fite's children are LeRoy Franklin
19(Barbara) Lilly (deceased), Vater Jo (Robert) Goodman
20(deceased), Billie June (Felix) Neal (deceased), and Gloria
21Marves (deceased); and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Vater Fite's grandchildren are Iris L. James,
2Darius F. Lilly (deceased), State Representative Camille Y.
3Lilly, Brian S. Lilly, Karen (Jasmyn) Lilly, Jerome (Jerry)
4Goodman, Kevin (Jacqueline) Neal, and April (Vince) Braggs; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Vater Fite's great-grandchildren are Richard
6James, Darius Turner, Evan Turner, Briana Lilly, Vince Braggs
7Jr. (VJ), Briaja Braggs, and Brian Shawn Lilly II; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Vater Fite is a living legacy and the pride and
9joy of her family; therefore, be it
 
10    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
11NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
12we congratulate Vater Mae "Gran" Fite as she becomes a
13centenarian and wish her many more wonderful years; and be it
14further
 
15    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
16presented to Vater Fite as an expression of our esteem and
17respect.