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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Leon | ||||||
| 4 | Conner, who passed away on October 5, 2014; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Leon Conner was born on August 26, 1918 in | ||||||
| 6 | Carthage, Texas; his parents were Marvin and Selma Thomas | ||||||
| 7 | Conner; he married Odie Marie Leary on April 24, 1942 in | ||||||
| 8 | Chicago; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, Leon Conner grew up on small farmhouse, where he | ||||||
| 10 | was taught at an early age the importance of faith, family | ||||||
| 11 | values, and education which he carried throughout his life; | ||||||
| 12 | after graduating from high school, he moved to Chicago; in | ||||||
| 13 | 1941, he settled in Maywood; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, Leon Conner was drafted into the United States | ||||||
| 15 | Army in August of 1942 during World War II; during his military | ||||||
| 16 | career, he served as a First Sergeant and was responsible for | ||||||
| 17 | training over 120 soldiers under his command while serving in | ||||||
| 18 | Texas; after his honorable discharge in 1945, he returned to | ||||||
| 19 | Maywood to be with his family; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Leon Conner was employed as a machinist at | ||||||
| 21 | Commonwealth Edison, where he retired after 43 years of | ||||||
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| 1 | service; and
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Leon Conner was very involved with the Maywood | ||||||
| 3 | Village Board and local government organizations; he also | ||||||
| 4 | worked with a host of community activists, politicians, and | ||||||
| 5 | volunteer groups and donated to various charities and | ||||||
| 6 | non-profit organizations; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Leon Conner was an organizing member of the | ||||||
| 8 | Maywood branch of the NAACP, the Maywood Bataan Committee, the | ||||||
| 9 | Maywood Zoning Committee, and American Legion Emanuel L. Young | ||||||
| 10 | Post 838; he also served as Treasurer of the Christian Action | ||||||
| 11 | Ministry, committeeman for the Proviso Leyden Council for | ||||||
| 12 | Community Action, and co-founder of the Home and Neighborhood | ||||||
| 13 | Defenders Society with his son, former Mayor Ralph Conner; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, Leon Conner was a huge car enthusiast and enjoyed | ||||||
| 15 | restoring old cars, listening to music, and reading classical | ||||||
| 16 | and historical books; he also enjoyed traveling the country in | ||||||
| 17 | his RV with his family; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, As a child, Leon Conner attended Mt. Zion | ||||||
| 19 | Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; he and his wife later | ||||||
| 20 | joined Canaan African Methodist Episcopal Church and worshiped | ||||||
| 21 | there for many years under Reverend Higgenbotham and Reverend | ||||||
| 22 | J.W. James; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Leon Conner was preceded in death by his parents; | ||||||
| 2 | 2 siblings, Inez Jones and Herese Bowman; his wife, Odie Marie; | ||||||
| 3 | and 3 children, Thomas Earl, Ralph Wesley and Alva Cheryl; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Leon Conner is survived by 3 daughters, Joy, | ||||||
| 5 | Marilyn, and Melody; a sibling, Vater Fite; 13 grandchildren; | ||||||
| 6 | 15 great-grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and | ||||||
| 7 | friends; therefore, be it
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| 8 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 9 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 10 | we, along with his family and friends, mourn the passing of | ||||||
| 11 | Leon Conner; and be it further
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| 12 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 13 | presented to the family of Leon Conner as an expression of our | ||||||
| 14 | sympathy.
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