HR0678 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0678 LRB094 14893 MKM 49920 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, State Representative Monique Davis and the members of the Illinois House of Representatives learned with sadness of the death of Dr. Mary Elizabeth Henderson Wright on October 15, 2005; and

WHEREAS, The former Mary Elizabeth Henderson was born on May 26, 1916 in Surry County, Virginia, the last of seven children of the Reverend Dr. and Mrs. Hamilton M. Henderson; in June, 1938, she married her college sweetheart, the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright; and

WHEREAS, She graduated high school at fifteen years of age and graduated from Virginia Union University magna cum laude, with degrees in mathematics and English; in 1949, she earned a Master of Arts degree in mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania; during the 1958-59 school year, Mrs. Wright was on a sabbatical study leave as a National Science Fellow in the Graduate School of Education of the University of Pennsylvania where she earned a Master of Science degree in education; she went on to earn a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1971; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Wright had a distinguished 34-year career in the Philadelphia public schools; she taught mathematics for nine years at Sulzberger Junior High School; she was later appointed to teach mathematics at William Penn High School; in addition, she was the first African-American teacher at Roosevelt Junior High School, Germantown High School, and Philadelphia High School for Girls; Dr. Wright was appointed Vice Principal of the Philadelphia High School for Girls in 1968 and remained in that position until her retirement in 1978; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Wright had an active civic life; she was involved with the Germantown YMCA, the NAACP, LaSalle University, and many other civic organizations; she received many achievement awards, outstanding service awards, and other awards and honors throughout the years from the many groups she served; and

WHEREAS, Church and religion were very important to Dr. Wright; She was active in the life of the Grace Baptist Church of Germantown, where her husband was installed as pastor in 1938; in addition to being the minister's wife, she served as a Sunday school teacher, a youth leader, the vacation Bible school director, the choir director, the missionary society president, the church financial secretary, and the church trustee; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Wright was a dynamic speaker who was much in demand for special church services; she was a loyal and active member of the Women's Auxiliary of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Missions Convention, the North American Baptist Women's Union of the Baptist World Alliance, and the local association of Ministers' Wives and Ministers' Widows; she served in a leadership capacity with all of these organizations; and

WHEREAS, The passing of Dr. Mary Elizabeth Henderson Wright has been deeply felt by many, especially her daughter and son-in-law, Mary LaVerne Miner and Dr. William R. Miner; her son and daughter-in-law, the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. and the Rev. Mrs. Ramah Wright; her grandchildren, Janet Marie Moore, Jeri Lynne Harris, Edward Timothy Wright, Jamila Nandi Wright, Nikol D. Reed, and Nathan W. Reed; her great-grandchildren, Jeremiah Antonio Wright-Haynes, Jazmin Lynne Hall, and Steven Lawrence Moore, Jr.; her nieces, Pamela Wood, Tommyzee Suggs, and Joyce Baden; and many other relatives and friends; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Dr. Mary Elizabeth Henderson Wright, and we extend our deepest sympathy to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to her family as an expression of our sincerest condolences.