RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Emma Didlake has been called to eternal life by the wisdom of God at the age of 110; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council has been informed of her passing by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and
WHEREAS, A longtime resident of Detroit, Michigan, Emma Didlake was America's oldest veteran; and
WHEREAS, Born in the small community of Boligee, Alabama, in 1905, Emma Didlake later moved with her family to Kentucky; and
WHEREAS, In 1922 Emma Didlake married her husband, Oscar, who worked as a coal miner and the couple raised five children; and
WHEREAS, During World War II, as a 38-year-old wife and mother, Emma Didlake joined the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps; and
WHEREAS, Emma Didlake served her country stateside for seven months as a Private and driver; and
WHEREAS, Following the war, the family settled in Detroit where Emma Didlake became an active member of the NAACP; and
WHEREAS, Emma Didlake participated in the historic 1963 civil rights march on Washington, D.C., led by the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.; and
WHEREAS, Emma Didlake was awarded the NAACP's James Weldon Johnson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013; and
WHEREAS, Emma Didlake was a longtime member of Wolverine Chapter 67 of the Women's Army Corps Veterans Association; and
WHEREAS, In July of 2015, Emma Didlake participated in an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., where she met with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office and was hailed as a trailblazer who helped to integrate the armed forces; and
WHEREAS, Emma Didlake will be dearly missed and fondly remembered by her many relatives, friends and admirers; and
WHEREAS, To her beloved family, Emma Didlake imparts a legacy of faithfulness, service and dignity; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council, assembled this twenty-fourth day of September 2015, do hereby commemorate Emma Didlake for her grace-filled life and do hereby express our condolences to her family; and
BE I...
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