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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of John Howard Hudson Sr. of Chicago, who
4passed away on August 21, 2016; and
 
5    WHEREAS, John Hudson Sr. was born in Chicago to Percy and
6Marie Hudson; he attended Carter Elementary School, Englewood
7High School, and Cortez Peters Business College; and
 
8    WHEREAS, John Hudson Sr. sold insurance in Chatham for
9American General; he also sold shoes at Robson's, where he
10outfitted singers, including Lou Rawls and singer-Chicago
11Defender journalist, Earl Calloway; he also provided shoes for
12Tabernacle soloist, Doris Sykes, and her entire choir; he sold
13shoes to stars who would wander over from the Regal Theater,
14including comic Redd Foxx; and
 
15    WHEREAS, John Hudson Sr. and his wife operated the Hudson
16Funeral Home; and
 
17    WHEREAS, John Hudson Sr. was minister of music at Pleasant
18Gift Missionary Baptist Church for over 40 years, which was
19founded by his Mississippi family and became a destination for
20African Americans moving to Chicago from the south; Pleasant
21Gift launched the careers of his cousin, actress-singer

 

 

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1Jennifer Hudson, and his nieces, the Nichols Sisters; another
2relative started the Canton Spirituals gospel quartet; and
 
3    WHEREAS, John Hudson Sr. once helped organize a choir of
4more than 100 singers for a special performance at Medinah
5Temple with Thomas A. Dorsey, the father of gospel music; and
 
6    WHEREAS, John Hudson Sr. directed the gospel standard
7"Don't Forget the Family Prayer" at the annual Hudson family
8reunion, which traditionally closes the gathering, now in its
960th year; and
 
10    WHEREAS, John Hudson Sr.'s enjoyed visiting his family in
11Mississippi and traveling to the south; he also enjoyed pound
12cake and watching "Wheel of Fortune"; and
 
13    WHEREAS, John Hudson Sr. is survived by his wife of 48
14years, Dorothy (Sutton); his sons, John Jr., Paris, and
15Prentice; three grandchildren; his sisters, Ruth, Julia, and
16Hattie; his brothers, Clarence, Robert, Michael, and Donald;
17and many cousins, nephews, and nieces; therefore, be it
 
18    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
19ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
20John Howard Hudson Sr., and extend our sincere condolences to
21his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it

 

 

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1further
 
2    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
3presented to the family of John Hudson Sr. as an expression of
4our deepest sympathy.