MEMORIAL RESOLUTION HONORING MELVA DEAN LEWIS ROBINSON
WHEREAS, Melva Dean Lewis Robinson, amazing wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and matriarch, was called to rest on Saturday, July 3, 2021; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council has been informed of Melva's passing by the Honorable Michael D. Rodriguez, Alderman of the 22nd Ward; and
WHEREAS, Melva Dean Lewis was born August 11,1944, in Clarence, Louisiana and was raised in the Shreveport area; she was the youngest of seven children bom to Mattie (Payton) Lewis and Sam Lewis, Sr.; and
WHEREAS, Melva and her family were sharecroppers living on a farm, harvesting vegetables, peaches, figs, cotton, and soybeans and also raising chickens, turkeys, hogs, and pigs; and
WHEREAS, After her father passed away, Melva moved to Chicago when she was nine years old with her younger brother, Isaac, and their mother; and
WHEREAS, Melva's early education included Greenville Elementary School in Louisiana and Hess School and Farragut H.S. in Chicago; and
WHEREAS, Baptized at an early age, Melva joined the Beautiful Zion Missionary Baptist Church in 1962 under the leadership of the late Pastor M.J. Richards and was a faithful and active member of the Church until her retirement to the Mother's Board; and
WHEREAS, Melva believed in serving wherever she was needed and served in several ministries: Young Adult Choir, Usher's Board, Baptist Training Union, Missionary President, Sunday School Teacher, Christian Education Director, Director for the Winter Prayer Breakfast, Coordinator of Baptismal, Women's Day Speaker, Pastor's Aid, and Trustee; she was also inducted into the Church's Hall of Fame and founded "Down Home Sunday" - while she held many titles, she was a willingly working servant, and she never waited for someone else to do the work; and
WHEREAS, Melva worked at the Wilson & Jones company for a brief period before she met and married the late Rev. Eugene Cherry; to this union were born two sons: Eugene an...
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