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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | ||||||
| 3 | to learn of the death of Brigadier General (Ret.) Walter James | ||||||
| 4 | Whitfield of Phoenix, Arizona, who passed away on August 16, | ||||||
| 5 | 2024; and | ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, Walter Whitfield was born in Jackson, Mississippi | ||||||
| 7 | to Buster and Willie Whitfield on November 5, 1948, and his | ||||||
| 8 | family relocated to Chicago's West Side when he was eight; he | ||||||
| 9 | graduated from Tilden Technical High School in 1966 and | ||||||
| 10 | attended Chicago's City Colleges; he enlisted in the U.S. Army | ||||||
| 11 | in 1967 and qualified for Officer Candidate School, leading to | ||||||
| 12 | a commission as a second lieutenant in the field artillery | ||||||
| 13 | division; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, Walter Whitfield's military career was exemplary; | ||||||
| 15 | he served with distinction, earning promotions from captain | ||||||
| 16 | during the Vietnam War to brigadier general of the 33rd | ||||||
| 17 | Separate Infantry Brigade in the Illinois Army National Guard; | ||||||
| 18 | he was recognized as the first Black brigadier general in the | ||||||
| 19 | Illinois National Guard in 1992; his military service spanned | ||||||
| 20 | 41 years, culminating in his retirement on October 1, 1997 | ||||||
| 21 | from the Illinois National Guard as a brigadier general; and | ||||||
| 22 | WHEREAS, Walter Whitfield made significant contributions | ||||||
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| 1 | in the engineering field; he worked as an electrical engineer | ||||||
| 2 | for Furnas Electric in Illinois from 1977 to 1995 and later as | ||||||
| 3 | a division solar engineer for Kyocera in Arizona until his | ||||||
| 4 | retirement in 2017; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Walter Whitfield was a lifetime member and served | ||||||
| 6 | as Exalted Ruler of William H. Patterson Elks Lodge #477; he | ||||||
| 7 | was also a lifetime member of Travis L. Williams American | ||||||
| 8 | Legion Post #1710 and a dedicated member of VFW Post #65, where | ||||||
| 9 | he served as post commander for two years; and | ||||||
| 10 | WHEREAS, Walter Whitfield committed to his faith at an | ||||||
| 11 | early age and was an active and dedicated member of the Mt. | ||||||
| 12 | Hebron Missionary Baptist Church; he remained rooted in his | ||||||
| 13 | faith throughout his life, and upon moving to Phoenix, he | ||||||
| 14 | joined the First Institutional Baptist Church, where he | ||||||
| 15 | participated in the men's ministry, attending retreats and | ||||||
| 16 | conferences; and | ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, Walter Whitfield was preceded in death by his | ||||||
| 18 | parents; his brother, Elbert Lee Jefferson; and his sister, | ||||||
| 19 | Willa B. Sotherland; and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, Walter Whitfield is survived by his beloved wife, | ||||||
| 21 | Jackie Platt-Whitfield; his stepson, Deon Platt; his grandson, | ||||||
| 22 | Sheldon Platt; his children from previous relationships, Eric | ||||||
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| 1 | Williams Sr., Gavin (Jae) Whitfield, and Shani Whitfield; his | ||||||
| 2 | grandchildren, Eric Williams Jr. and Mecca Whitfield; his | ||||||
| 3 | favorite nephew, Rayburn (Delanor) Tucker; and numerous | ||||||
| 4 | nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and former colleagues; | ||||||
| 5 | therefore, be it | ||||||
| 6 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | ||||||
| 7 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | ||||||
| 8 | Brigadier General (Ret.) Walter James Whitfield and extend our | ||||||
| 9 | sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew | ||||||
| 10 | and loved him; and be it further | ||||||
| 11 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 12 | presented to the family of Walter Whitfield as an expression | ||||||
| 13 | of our deepest sympathy. | ||||||