RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Members of this Chamber were deeply saddened to learn of the death on February 23, 2018, at age 85, of Edna LucilleJackson, a respected citizen of the City of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, Born on September 7, 1933 in Ironton, Ohio, a small town on the Ohio River near the border of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia, Ms. Jackson was the only child of Geraldine and Freddie Higgins. A tiny infant, Ms. Jackson was affectionately nicknamed "Biddy" by her mother's family, a name they still call her today; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Jackson's mother, Geraldine, worked as a teacher's assistant and doctor's assistant. Her stepfather, Robert Algernon Livisay, was a veteran and foundry worker, and the first African American to serve on Ironton's City Council; and
WHEREAS, Educated in Ironton's public schools until her junior year in high school, Ms. Jackson moved to Chicago with her Aunt Edna, a registered nurse, and her aunt's husband, Earl Bell, a Pullman dining car waiter, before being joined in Chicago by her parents. Together, they lived on 41st Street in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood, where Ms. Jackson graduated from Wendell Phillips High School in 1951. Ms. Jackson's family took pains to ensure that their beloved "Lucy" - as Ms. Jackson was also known - was exposed to the best of Chicago's culture and society. During this critical juncture in her life, Ms. Jackson made lifelong friends, who prepared for college together and supported one another throughout their lives; and
WHEREAS, After graduating from high school, Ms. Jackson briefly attended George Williams Teacher's College. She subsequently transferred to the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, where she pledged Delta Sigma Theta, a national public service sorority, and graduated with a degree in Physical Education; and
WHEREAS, Returning to Chicago to find employment, Ms. Jackson briefly worked in a zipper factory until she was offered a position at Englewood High School as an instructor in th...
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