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TRIBUTE TO CHIEF BISHOP MELVIN L. CRAWFORD
WHEREAS, Almighty God in His Infinite Wisdom has rewarded Chief Bishop Melvin L. Crawford with eternal lire after almost four score and 13 years of this temporal life spent devoted to His service; and
WHEREAS, Bishop Crawford started life on October 5, 1920 in Clarksdale, Mississippi as the youngest of 10 children born to the union of the late Leah and Mose Crawford. His father, who owned a grocery and a farm, died when he was four but the example of entrepreneurship the elder Crawford set lead young Melvin to work hard and save enough to buy his mother a house ten years later; and
WHEREAS, In his early 20s, Bishop Crawford came lo Chicago on the back of his sister's truck with three suits and a belief that things were going to get better as indeed it did. He met and married his evangelist wife, Beatrice Holmes, in 1934, a well-educated and God-fearing woman. Their 55-year marriage ended only with her transition on Easter Sunday, 1989, Their union was blessed with four children, all of whom preceded him in passing; and
WHEREAS. Like so many young men of his generation. Bishop Crawford enlisted in the United States Army to serve in a medical unit behind enemy lines during World War II. After returning home unscathed, he reflected on why he was spared after so many had perished. Shortly thereafter, he and his family found fellowship with the Church of the Living God, Pillar and Ground of the Truth; and
WHEREAS, Education was important to Bishop Crawford. He attended Miller's Business College and Culinary School. The knowledge from this education was used in his many business ventures. Like his father, Bishop Crawford purchased a grocery store and, in addition, a Tastee Freeze. However, heeding the call found in the biblical passage of Mark 10:21, "Go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven and come, follow Me"; and
WHEREAS, Bishop Crawford took money out of the family savings for a church edifice. His sister Cora and her husband joined with their family, and later came Sister Mary Ingram and family. Sister Tennie Bryant and family. Mother Shirley Scott and family. Mother Crawford and family, and many more members in need of a spiritual home; and
WHEREAS, Bishop Crawford worked his way through the ranks of the church as choir member, deacon, trustee, and Minister, all the way to the prestigious position as Chief Bishop of many Churches of the Living God from Chicago to California. He became the President of the Jericho Walk and as a senior in politics and community awareness, he was a member of Englewood Ministries, the Mayors Counsel for World Change and many more organizations. His city has honored him with a street named after him and his kite wife on the corner of 67th and Hermitage "Bishop Melvin & Beatrice Crawford Street": and
WHEREAS, The Honorable Toni Foulkes, Alderman of the 15"' Ward, has informed this august body of the passing of this icon of this city's spiritual community; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED That we, the Mayor and members of the City of Chicago City Council, gathered together this I6lh Day of October. 2013, do hereby express our sincere sorrow upon learning of the passing of Chief Bishop Melvin L. Crawford and extend our deepest sympathy to his multiple family members, his congregation and all those many souls whose lives he touched.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED That a suitable copy of this resolution be prepared and presented to the family of Chief Bishop Melvin L. Crawford.