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92_SR0572
LRB9218432KFkfA
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of
3 Illinois were saddened to learn of the death of Marvin Smith
4 Sr. of Waukegan on December 1, 2002 at 72 years of age; and
5 WHEREAS, Mr. Smith was born in Waukegan on May 25, 1930;
6 he was a graduate of Waukegan Township High School and also
7 attended Chicago Technical College where he studied
8 architectural drafting; and
9 WHEREAS, In 1959, he was part of a group that filed a
10 lawsuit to desegregate the Waukegan Grade School District and
11 six years later, the group won in court and the schools
12 became integrated; for his contribution, the Whittier School
13 Mothers Club cited Smith for work on behalf of the community;
14 and
15 WHEREAS, He retired from the U.S. Steel wire mill after
16 nearly 30 years of service; in 1962, he joined the Illinois
17 Secretary of State's office; he retired in 2000 from the
18 Waukegan facility where he conducted road tests; and
19 WHEREAS, In the late 1960s, he was a member of the city's
20 Human Relations Commission; was a vice president of the
21 NAACP; the United Steelworkers Union; a member of Shiloh
22 Baptist Church in Waukegan, where he volunteered his time;
23 and a long-time member of the Waukegan local of the American
24 Federation of Musicians; and
25 WHEREAS, As a jazz drummer, he played in a band called
26 the Jazz Brothers, which regularly played in Milwaukee and
27 Chicago; his son, Marvin "Smitty" Smith is the drummer of the
28 Tonight Show Band; and
29 WHEREAS, His passing will be deeply felt by all who knew
30 and loved him, especially his wife, Edith; his three sons,
31 Michael, Marvin, and Mitchell; his two daughters, Lucille
-2- LRB9218432KFkfA
1 Harper and Helen Smith-Gatlin; his two step-daughters, Gloria
2 Taylor and Dorothy Harris; and his eleven grandchildren; and
3 WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his parents, Otis
4 and Lucille Smith; therefore, be it
5 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SECOND GENERAL
6 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we note with sorrow
7 and regret the death of Marvin Smith Sr. and extend our
8 sincere condolences to his family and friends; and be it
9 further
10 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
11 delivered to the family of Marvin Smith Sr.
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