HR1579 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1579 LRB096 24704 KXB 44688 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Homer L. Ward, Sr. of Robbins, who passed away on December 30, 2010; and

WHEREAS, He was born in New Boston, Texas, on June 5, 1919, to Annie McFarland and Bloxie Wade; the family moved north to Evanston when he was only two or three years old; he attended both the Evanston and later the Chicago Public Schools; he met his future wife, Mary Elizabeth Riddick, while attending public school in Chicago; and

WHEREAS, His mother sent him back to Texas to live with her sister, Della, and her family; while there, he developed his lifelong passion for hunting and fishing and a love and appreciation for nature and the environment; he later returned to Chicago and renewed his pursuit of Mary Riddick, as well as working with the Illinois Conservation Corps Camp and the WPA; he and his wife were married in 1940; and

WHEREAS, He enlisted in the United States Army in 1944; he was chosen for the special pilot training program for "Coloreds" in the Air Corps division in Tuskegee, Alabama; the men in the program became the Tuskegee Airmen; he served in the military until the end of World War II and returned to Chicago; in 1949, he moved to Robbins; and

WHEREAS, He designed, with the help of a few good friends, and built his Robbins home; he became a Master Mason in 1954 and is a lifetime member of the Alpha & Omega Lodge #121 Free & Accepted Masons, Prince Hall Affiliation; he was an early member of the Robbins Rod & Gun Club; he was a Hunter Safety Instructor for the Illinois Wildlife Federation, Law Enforcement Division; He was a Range Master and Trainer for, and member of, the Robbins Police Department; he was an elected Commissioner of the Robbins Park District; and for many years he was the maintenance superintendent for the Housing Authority of the County of Cook in Robbins; and

WHEREAS, Homer Ward, Sr. is survived by his children, Mary, June, and Homer, Jr.; his grandchildren; his great-grandchildren; and his great-great-grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Homer Ward, Sr.; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Homer Ward, Sr. as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.