OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
CITY OF CHICAGO
RICHARD M. DALEY
MAYOR
February 9, 2011
TO THE HONORABLE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I transmit herewith a resolution honoring the life and memory of Katherine I. Higginbottom.
Your favorable consideration of this resolution will be appreciated.
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Members of this Chamber were deeply saddened to learn of the death on December 17, 2010, at age 87, of Katherine I. Higginbottom, a local entrepreneur, homemaker and respected citizen of the City of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, Born in Pembroke Township, Kankakee County, Illinois on November 20, 1923, Mrs. Higginbottom was the eldest child of Ulysses and Pearl Skaggs. One of thirteen children, Mrs. Higginbottom grew up in a poor farm community in Hopkins Park, Illinois; and
WHEREAS, A sickly child, Mrs. Higginbottom was raised by her maternal grandparents, Ellen and William Tetter. The apple of her grandparents' eyes, Mrs. Higginbottom had a happy childhood on her grandparents' farm, where she tended to her pet pig, milked cows, picked blueberries, cut out paper dolls, played mumblety peg with a pocket knife and loved to watch her grandfather mount his horse, Mamie. As an adult, Mrs. Higginbottom fondly recalled lying on the back of a horse - head to rump - blowing the heads off of dandelions as she looked up at the sky;and
WHEREAS, Coming of age during the Great Depression, Mrs. Higginbottom's adolescent years were fraught with tragedy and hardship. Three of her siblings died in infancy from illnesses complicated by malnutrition. When she turned 13, Mrs. Higginbottom's parents moved to Chicago Heights in search of a better life and took their young daughter Katherine with them. Mrs. Higginbottom never forgot that wrenching separation from her beloved grandparents; and
WHEREAS, As a student at St. Anne's High School in St. Anne, Illinois, Mrs. Higginbottom struggled with poverty and discrimination. An avid reader, whose family owned ...
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