State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_SR0494

 
                                               LRB9217635RHrh

 1                          SENATE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, The members  of  the  Illinois  Senate  wish  to
 3    express their sincerest condolences to the family and friends
 4    of the Reverend Alvin F. Harris, Jr., who passed away on July
 5    29, 2002; and

 6        WHEREAS,    The    Reverend   Alvin   F.   Harris,   Jr.,
 7    affectionately known as "Butch", was born  to  the  union  of
 8    Alvin and Dorothy Harris on February 24, 1946 in Chicago; and

 9        WHEREAS,  Rev.  Harris  attended John D. Shoop Elementary
10    School where he graduated and went on to attend  Morgan  Park
11    High School in Chicago; and

12        WHEREAS, As a small child growing up in Morgan Park, Rev.
13    Harris  loved  and  honored his grandfather, who was a Deacon
14    and one of the founders of Mt. Joy Missionary Baptist  Church
15    in  Chicago,  where he accepted Christ and was baptized at an
16    early age and where he faithfully attended Sunday School  and
17    sang in the choir; and

18        WHEREAS,  Rev. Harris' grooming came from his grandfather
19    who led him to become a young  man  with  strong  morals  and
20    values;  at  the  age of twelve, he was a helper on the truck
21    for Flashback Cleaners; as a teen he  was  mentored  by  Hank
22    Black  and  was  taught  all  the  facets  of  the  carpeting
23    business;  later  he  began  to  work  for  Conrail  Railroad
24    Company,  where  he  remained  for  20  years;  he was a Shop
25    Steward for two years for the Transport Workers Union,  Local
26    2014 and later became its Vice President; and

27        WHEREAS, As an entrepreneur at the age of 22, Rev. Harris
28    and  his brother-in-law opened their own carpet business, H&B
29    Carpet, which is still successful to this day;  in  addition,
30    he purchased property with a vision in mind, which originally
31    was  A&L  Seafood  Restaurant  and later was sectioned off to
 
                            -2-                LRB9217635RHrh
 1    become a men's shelter and a new  and  used  furniture  store
 2    called   Real   Deal;   he  also  founded  the  Christ  Total
 3    Deliverance Church and subsequently worked at the  Office  of
 4    the Cook County State's Attorney; and

 5        WHEREAS,  Rev.  Harris  met  and  married his first love,
 6    Lorraine Turner, in 1964; during this  union,  five  children
 7    were born, Linda, Frank, Alvin, Jeannine, and Ronnie; and

 8        WHEREAS, In July 1975, Rev. Harris met Lorraine Day; they
 9    were  married  in  July  1985 and are the parents of Tanille,
10    Allen, Aaron, Adam, and Tiarra; and

11        WHEREAS, In 1986, Rev. Harris was appointed as Deacon  at
12    Mt.  Joy Missionary Baptist Church; in 1987, he became a part
13    of the St.  John  Missionary  Baptist  Church  family,  where
14    Pastor  A.  Edward  Davis,  Jr.  appointed  him to the Deacon
15    Board, where he served faithfully for five years; and

16        WHEREAS, In 1992, Rev. Harris accepted his calling to the
17    "Gospel Ministry" and served humbly as an Associate Minister;
18    on December 8, 1992, he preached his first  message  entitled
19    "Returning  Home";  two  months  later,  he  was  offered the
20    Assistant Pasturage at  the  Straightway  Missionary  Baptist
21    Church; and

22        WHEREAS,  In  1997, Rev. Harris was ordained by Pastor A.
23    Edward  Davis,  Jr.  to  his   own   church,   Christ   Total
24    Deliverance;  he  later  established "The Potter's House" for
25    men who had been forgotten; in 2000, Rev. Harris  decided  to
26    go  back  to  St.  John  Missionary  Baptist Church after the
27    destruction of Christ Total Deliverance; and

28        WHEREAS, Rev. Harris was  a  part  of  various  community
29    organizations;  he  served  as the President of the South End
30    Business and Planning  Association,  founded  by  late  State
31    Representative,  Nelson  Rice;  he served as President of the
 
                            -3-                LRB9217635RHrh
 1    34th Ward Minister's Alliance, as member of the PTA of Morgan
 2    Park  High  School,  as  member  of  the  Morgan  Park  Roots
 3    Committee, as owner of H&B Carpet, as founder of the Prophecy
 4    Hour Radio Broadcast Ministry on WSSD-FM Radio, as member  of
 5    the  Minister's  Conference,  and  as Liaison for the Chicago
 6    Park District Minister's  Conference  and  the  Chicago  Area
 7    Gospel Announcers Guild of the GMWA, Inc.; and

 8        WHEREAS, The passing of the Reverend Alvin F. Harris, Jr.
 9    will be deeply felt by all who knew and loved him, especially
10    his  wife,  Lorraine  Day Harris; his mother, Dorothy Harris;
11    his children,  Linda,  Frank,  Alvin  (wife,  Rose),  Ronnie,
12    Jeannine,  Tanille  (husband,  Demond)  Walker, Allen, Aaron,
13    Adam, and Tiarra; his 13 grandchildren; his  brother,  Ronald
14    Harris; his sisters, Darlene Bailey, Burma (husband, Charles)
15    Thomas;  Janet  (husband,  Joseph)  Goodwin, Janice (husband,
16    Clarence) Banks, and Chiquita (husband,  Theopholis)  Wright;
17    his  mother-in-law,  Lucy  Penson;  his father-in-law, Angelo
18    (wife, Naomi) Day; his brothers-in-law, Kenneth Day,  Wilburt
19    Day,  and Micheal White; his sisters-in-law, Sharon (husband,
20    Thyran) Gumm, Deborah McNeal,  Denise  Williams,  and  Dionne
21    Day; his special friend, Sherman "Butch" Yancy; and a host of
22    cousins,  nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends; therefore,
23    be it

24        RESOLVED, BY THE  SENATE  OF  THE  NINETY-SECOND  GENERAL
25    ASSEMBLY  OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
26    all who knew him,  the  passing  of  the  Reverend  Alvin  F.
27    Harris, Jr. of Chicago; and be it further

28        RESOLVED,  That  a  suitable  copy  of this resolution be
29    presented to the family of the Reverend Alvin F. Harris,  Jr.
30    with our sincere condolences.

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