SR0941 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0941 LRB095 23164 GRL 53807 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of LaClaire Lissetta Jones Richards, who passed away on November 1, 2008; and

WHEREAS, LaClaire Jones Richards was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on January 9, 1931; her family moved to Kansas City, Kansas when she was an infant; and

WHEREAS, LaClaire Jones Richards received her bachelor's degree from National College in Kansas City, Kansas, her master's degree in Social Work from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, and performed postgraduate work at Columbia University in New York; she was also a diplomate in Clinical Social Work and was a certified gerontologist; and

WHEREAS, LaClaire Jones Richards had a long and distinguished career in social work; her professional career, which began in 1956, included positions at the Hastings State Hospital in Hastings, Nebraska, the VA Medical Center in Knoxville, Iowa, the Mental Health Institute in Cherokee, Iowa, and the VA Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, from which she retired in 1996; and

WHEREAS, LaClaire Jones Richards' teaching experiences included mentoring students from the University of Iowa School of Medicine in Iowa City, Iowa, the College of Osteopathic Medicine in Des Moines, Iowa, South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota, Central College in Pella, Iowa, the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota, and Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where she taught Minority/Black Studies; she also served as a field instructor for graduate students for the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, and the Augustana/Sioux Falls College Joint Social Work Program in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and

WHEREAS, LaClaire Jones Richards was an active member of her community; she served on the boards of the Visiting Nurses Association, YWCA, and NAACP, where she was the education chair and actively worked in civil rights issues; she also worked with minority inmates at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; she was named President of the Nebraska Association of Hospital Social Workers in 1959, President of the South Dakota Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers in 1981, and South Dakota Social Worker of the Year in 1983; she also was awarded a medal for having been the only 50-year member of the National Association of Social Workers in South Dakota; and

WHEREAS, LaClaire Jones Richards loved singing and reading her Bible; she was a member of her church choir and also sang with the South Dakota Symphony Choir; she was an active member in her church's programs, having served as a Ministries Deaconess and in the AWANA program; and

WHEREAS, LaClaire Jones Richards was preceded in death by her parents, Artie and Geraldine Jones; her brothers, Artie Jr. and Alva; and her sisters, Evelyn and Geraldine; and

WHEREAS, LaClaire Jones Richards is survived by her husband of 50 years, Dr. George Richards; her children, Leslie Richards-Yellen (David N.); Dr. Lia Richards-Palmiter (Dr. David J.), and Jorge (Lisa); and her eight grandchildren; and

WHEREAS, LaClaire Jones Richards will be remembered by all who knew and loved her for her wonderful smile, her unequaled kindness towards one and all, her deep faith, her great compassion, and her tireless energy to improve the lives of everyone she touched; therefore, be it

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

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of LaClaire Jones Richards as an expression of our sympathy.