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SENATE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to 
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learn of the death of Rose Sawako Tani of Lombard, who passed 
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away on December 19, 2007; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Sawako Shigeno was born on February 20, 1917 in 
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Florin, California, then a farming community outside of 
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Sacramento; she was the third of six children born to Hikokuma 
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and Koyoshi Shigeno, who had emigrated from Japan between 1906 
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and 1908; because an English name was required to enroll in 
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public elementary school, an older sister gave her the name, 
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Rose; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In 1940, Rose married Henry Nobuo Tani of San 
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Francisco; soon after the birth of their first son in 1942, the 
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Tani family, along with over 120,000 Japanese-Americans, was 
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incarcerated by the United States government, following the 
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Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor; on May 10, 1942, the Tani 
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family was moved temporarily to Tanforan racetrack, south of 
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San Francisco; after permanent internment camps were built 
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around the country, the family was transferred to Topaz 
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Relocation Center in Utah, where they lived for 16 months; in 
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1944 the Evangelical & Reformed Church offered Rose's husband a 
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job, enabling the family to leave Topaz and move to St. Louis, 
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Missouri; and

 
 


 






SR0609
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LRB095 20507 KXB 48409 r




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    WHEREAS, Continued work for the church brought the family 
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in 1951 to Ridley Park, Pennsylvania and in 1964 to Lombard, 
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where Rose settled after her husband's death in 1965; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Throughout her life, Rose was known for her 
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devotion to her family, her garden, and her church; as a 
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long-time member of the First Church of Lombard, United Church 
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of Christ, Rose volunteered in many church programs; she worked 
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a monthly night shift at PADS, an overnight shelter for 
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homeless people, up to the time of her death; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Rose Tani is survived by her four children, 
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Richard (Ann), Steven (Tricia), Christine, and Daniel (Jane);  
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her third son, John, died in 1992; she is survived by her 
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twelve grandchildren, her two great-grandchildren, and one 
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sister, Nobuko Kawagoye (Mits); therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE  SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL 
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ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with 
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her family and friends, the passing of Rose Sawako Tani; and be 
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it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to the family of Rose Sawako Tani as a symbol of our 
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sincere condolences.