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91_SR0358
LRB9113936KBkb
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3 to learn of the death of Lila Benjamin Teer of East St.
4 Louis, Illinois; and
5 WHEREAS, Lila Benjamin Teer was born in Bolivia,
6 Tennessee on April 4, 1912; her parents were Howard and Mary
7 Benjamin; she graduated from Wendell Phillips High School in
8 Chicago in 1930; and
9 WHEREAS, Lila Benjamin Teer graduated from the University
10 of Illinois with a Bachelor of Science degree in Home
11 Economics in 1934; she was a charter member of the Alpha Nu
12 Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; while attending
13 the University of Illinois, she met her husband, Fred Lewis
14 Teer; after their marriage they moved to East St. Louis,
15 Illinois; and
16 WHEREAS, She was a member of Wesley Bethel Church, where
17 she served as financial secretary, and she served as
18 chairperson for the Southern Illinois Commission on Religion
19 and Race; Mrs. Teer took advance courses in human relations
20 and community organizational development; she was Director
21 for the Young Adult Program of the YWCA; she also worked with
22 the Volunteer Service Bureau, the Youth Administration of the
23 St. Clair County Family Service Agency, and University
24 Services to East St. Louis through Southern Illinois
25 University in Edwardsville, Illinois; and
26 WHEREAS, Mrs. Teer developed the model for the "War on
27 Poverty" on the Economic Opportunity Commission in the
28 1960's; she organized day-care programs for the mentally
29 handicapped and retired as the development liaison between
30 SIU-E and the City of East St. Louis in 1973; and
31 WHEREAS, She received the Top Ladies of Distinction "Role
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1 Model" award in 1989; the Mayor's Committee inducted Mrs.
2 Teer into the Hall of Fame for Cultural Arts and Humanities
3 in 1989; in 1991 she was recognized by Delta Sigma Theta as
4 "One of the Founders" of the D.S.T. Patroness Board; and
5 WHEREAS, Mrs. Teer had a love of travel and visited many
6 parts of the world with her daughter, grandchildren, and
7 sister-in-law; and
8 WHEREAS, The parting of Lila Benjamin Teer will be felt
9 by all that knew her, including her daughter, Dr. Barbara Ann
10 Teer; her grandchildren, Michael (Omi) Lythcott and Sade
11 Barbara Ann Lythcott; her sister-in-law, Mrs. Dorothy Teer
12 Owens; her brother-in-law, Cornelius (Catherine) Teer, Jr.;
13 her godson, Brian Ward; her many nieces and nephews; the
14 family of the National Black Theatre in New York City; and
15 her special friends, Wilda Lomini, Absiloa Faison, and Olivia
16 Young; therefore, be it
17 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIRST GENERAL
18 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
19 all that knew her, the death of Lila Benjamin Teer of East
20 St. Louis, Illinois; and be it further
21 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
22 presented to the family of Lila Benjamin Teer.