SR1142 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1142 LRB096 24739 KXB 44781 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Mamie Clayborne Bolden of East St. Louis, who passed away on January 3, 2011; and

WHEREAS, She was born on August 12, 1927, in Wahalak, Mississippi, the 12th child born to the union of Jesse and Indiana (Stennis) Clayborne; the family moved to East St. Louis when she was 8; she joined Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church and was baptized by Reverend B. Haney; and

WHEREAS, She attended John Robinson and Dunbar grade schools and graduated from Lincoln Sr. High with the class of 1947; she married Richard Bolden on Christmas Day in 1947; in her early married life, she worked in the partnership of the Eighth Street Service Station (Sinclair Service Station), an enterprise owned by her siblings and in-laws that operated from 1953 to 1965; beginning in 1973, she worked for two years as a receptionist in the office of Dr. A.M. Jackson; and

WHEREAS, On June 5, 1992, she retired from the Children's Center for Behavioral Development after 17 years of service; after rearing her children, she went back to school and earned an associate's degree in pre-teaching from State Community College (Metropolitan College) in 1974; and

WHEREAS, As a life-long member of Mt. Zion, her church involvement included being a Sunday School teacher, the BTU, a choir member, church youth director, president of the Deaconess Ministry, and head of special efforts such as the church anniversary; and

WHEREAS, Her community engagements included organizing the Olivette Park Neighborhood Association in 1995 and serving as its president for 6 years; she served on the board of the Lighthouse Community Development Corporation of East St. Louis; as an extension of her neighborhood work, it was not unusual to find her cleaning empty lots or alley ways in the neighborhood; and

WHEREAS, She credited her children with opening up a whole new world to her through travel; she traveled to East Germany and West Germany, and again when the two became one Germany; she saw the Berlin Wall; in Egypt, she traveled the route along which Moses took the children of Israel and visited the spot where Moses turned the rock to water and the mountain where Moses died; she also visited Switzerland, India, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Jordan, and Puerto Rico; and

WHEREAS, Mamie Clayborne Bolden is survived by her children, Richard (Fannie), Diane (Hollis Taylor Jr.), Roderick, and Pamela; her grandchildren, Francea Bolden, Andria Jones, Tanya Sanford (Carlos), and Rachel Taylor; her stepson, Henry Bolden Sr.; her brother, Calvin Clayborne; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and close friends; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with her family and friends, the passing of Mamie Clayborne Bolden; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Mamie Clayborne Bolden as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.