093_HR0498

 
                                     LRB093 13234 KEF 18502 r

 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS,  The  members   of   the   Illinois   House   of
 3    Representatives  were  saddened to learn of the death of Mary
 4    Jo Albritton Smith of Joliet on April 10, 2003; and

 5        WHEREAS, Mrs. Smith attended St. Patrick's  grade  school
 6    and   St.  Francis  Academy  in  Joliet;  she  continued  her
 7    education at St. Joseph's School  of  Nursing  and  became  a
 8    registered  nurse;  she received her Bachelor's of Science in
 9    Nursing from College of St. Francis while working and raising
10    a family; and

11        WHEREAS, Mrs. Smith worked for the U.S. Army as  a  nurse
12    in  Frankfurt,  Germany  after graduating nursing school; she
13    then came back to Joliet and worked at St. Joseph's  Hospital
14    first  as  a  Medical Surgical nurse; she then spent thirteen
15    years as an emergency room nurse; she became the  Head  Nurse
16    of  the  Bethany  Unit  at  St.  Joseph's  and following this
17    position, she became the Executive  Director  of  the  Joliet
18    Area Community Hospice; and

19        WHEREAS,  Mrs. Smith held offices with the Illinois State
20    Hospice organization as a Secretary, a member of the Board of
21    Directors, and as Vice President; she was also a board member
22    of the State of Illinois Education Committee on Hospice  from
23    1986  to  1991  and chaired that committee from 1987 to 1990;
24    and

25        WHEREAS, While director  of  the  Joliet  Area  Community
26    Hospice,  it  became Medicare/Medicaid certified; she secured
27    the donation of the current hospice building and arranged for
28    the donation of most of the material and labor  to  make  the
29    building  into the hospice headquarters; she worked to obtain
30    donations to expand the hospice programs, and  she  initiated
31    partnerships  with  nursing homes as well as St. Joseph's and
32    Silver Cross hospitals; additionally, she served on both  the
 
                            -2-      LRB093 13234 KEF 18502 r
 1    State and National Boards of Hospice; she taught and lectured
 2    extensively with regards to hospice; and

 3        WHEREAS, After seven years as Director, she had to retire
 4    due to Multiple Sclerosis; even though her physical abilities
 5    became  limited,  her mind did not; she became co-facilitator
 6    of the first local M.S. office in Joliet;  she  ran  a  grief
 7    support  group  at her church, St. Jude's, with help from the
 8    deacons at the church; she was on the board of directors  and
 9    past president of the Center for Independent Living; and

10        WHEREAS,  In  1997,  she received the Mercedes Excellence
11    Award for  Volunteering,  Chicago  Greater  Illinois  Chapter
12    National  M.S.  Society,  and  in  1998,  she was awarded the
13    United Way award for volunteering for the Will Grundy  Center
14    for  Independent Living; Mrs. Smith  was named the 2003 Irish
15    Citizen of the Year by the St. Jude Church and School; and

16        WHEREAS, Mrs. Smith  was  an  excellent  role  model  for
17    people  who  acquire  disabilities later in life; her passing
18    has been deeply felt by many, especially her husband,  Robert
19    C.  Smith,  and  her sons, Robert C. Smith, II and Michael E.
20    Smith; therefore, be it

21        RESOLVED,  BY  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES   OF   THE
22    NINETY-THIRD  GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
23    we mourn the passing of Mary Jo Albritton Smith,  who  was  a
24    citizen  that  truly  worked  for  the good of all; and be it
25    further

26        RESOLVED, That a suitable  copy  of  this  resolution  be
27    presented  to  the  family  of  Mary Jo Albritton Smith as an
28    expression of our sincerest condolences.