MEMORIAL-JOANNE M. WATKINS

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SR0838

Select Language

×

The Illinois General Assembly offers the Google Translate™ service for visitor convenience. In no way should it be considered accurate as to the translation of any content herein.

Visitors of the Illinois General Assembly website are encouraged to use other translation services available on the internet.

The English language version is always the official and authoritative version of this website.

NOTE: To return to the original English language version, select the "Show Original" button on the Google Translate™ menu bar at the top of the window.

Choose Language

English

Afrikaans

Albanian

Arabic

Armenian

Azerbaijani

Basque

Bengali

Bosnian

Catalan

Croatian

Czech

Danish

Dutch

Esperanto

Estonian

Filipino

Finnish

French

Galician

Georgian

German

Greek

Gujarati

Haitian Creole

Hausa

Hawaiian

Hebrew

Hindi

Hungarian

Icelandic

Indonesian

Interlingua

Interlingue

Inuktitut

Irish

Italian

Japanese

Javanese

Kannada

Khmer

Korean

Latin

Latvian

Lithuanian

Luxembourgish

Macedonian

Malagasy

Malayalam

Maltese

Maori

Marathi

Myanmar

Nepali

Norwegian

Odia

Pashto

Punjabi

Romanian

Russian

Samoan

Sango

Sanskrit

Sardinian

Sindhi

Sinhala

Slovak

Slovenian

Somali

Southern Sotho

Spanish

Sundanese

Swahili

Swedish

Tamil

Telugu

Thai

Tigrinya

Tonga

Turkish

Ukrainian

Urdu

Vietnamese

Welsh

Xhosa

Yiddish

Yoruba

Zulu

Powered by
Translate

Close

Illinois General Assembly

Top Navigation Bar

Translate

Learn

Select General Assembly

Search the 104th General Assembly

Enter search terms for legislation, members, committees, or schedules.

ILGA.GOV

LEGISLATION & LAWS

Bills & Resolutions

Public Acts

Illinois Compiled Statutes

Illinois Constitution

Search Legislation

Glossary

Guide

Reports & Inquiry

Legislative Reports

Special Reports

FTP Site

Legislator Lookup

Capitol Complex Phone Numbers

Rules & Regulations

Illinois Register

Administrative Rules

Senate

Members

Schedules

Committees

Request for Remote Testimony

Journals

Transcripts

Rules

Audio/Video

FOIA Information

Senate Employment Opportunities

Media Guidelines

House

Members

Schedules

Committees

Submit testimony for House Committees

Journals

Transcripts

Rules

Audio/Video

FOIA Information

House Employment Opportunities

Log In

Mobile Top Bar

Search the 104th General Assembly

Enter keywords to search the Illinois General Assembly website.

Full Text of SR0838

Home

Legislation

Full Text

SR0838 - 104th General Assembly

Bill Status

Full Text

Votes

Witness Slips

Select Menu

Bill Status

Full Text

Votes

Witness Slips

Printer Friendly Version

Introduced

Printer Friendly Version

Introduced

Open PDF

SR0838
LRB104 13489 MST 25935 r
1
SENATE RESOLUTION

2

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3
to learn of the death of Joane Margaret Watkins; and

4

WHEREAS, Joane Watkins was born in Chicago to Parks and
5
Louise (Thompson) Watkins on August 15, 1935; she graduated in
6
1953 from John Marshall High School and attended Roosevelt
7
University while working as a caseworker for the Department of
8
Human Services in the Austin, Garfield, and Lawndale
9
communities; and

10

WHEREAS, Joane Watkins was the matriarch of the
11
Thompson-Watkins Family Tree and a descendant of the freed
12
slave, Wade Watkins from Halls, Tennessee; and

13

WHEREAS, Joane Watkins enjoyed volunteering, family
14
events, music, dancing, and traveling; and

15

WHEREAS, Joane Watkins received a birthday resolution from
16
President Obama for her 80th Birthday; she received the 2025
17
President's Lifetime Achievement Award and a congratulatory
18
award letter from President Biden for serving over 50,000
19
volunteer hours in the Austin community as a board member of,
20
Diondai's Place Breast Cancer Support; she enjoyed mentoring
21
and participating in events at the Austin Branch Library and

SR0838
- 2 -
LRB104 13489 MST 25935 r
1
the Goodman Theatre, as well as Lupus walks, the Juneteenth
2
Peace Walk, and many others; and

3

WHEREAS, Joane Watkins was preceded in death by her
4
parents; her children, Louis Michael and Barbara; and her
5
siblings, Lawrence and Lorraine Watkins, Lillian Broussard,
6
Laura Harden, Lenora Godwin, Lois Davis, Barbara Harden, and
7
Nancy Bains; and

8

WHEREAS, Joane Watkins is survived by her children, Sheila
9
(Ronald) Smith, Sharon Cobbs, Diondai (Edwin Jr.)
10
Brown-Whitfield, Joseph (Karen) Veal, Judith Stroger, and G.
11
Sean Crittleton; 17 grandchildren; 30 great-grandchildren; 12
12
great-great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews,
13
cousins, extended family, and friends; therefore, be it

14

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL
15
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
16
Joane Margaret Watkins and extend our sincere condolences to
17
her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it
18
further

19

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20
presented to the family of Joane Watkins as an expression of
21
our deepest sympathy.

Footer

Disclaimer

This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the
Legislative Information System, 705 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois 62706.

Contact ILGA Webmaster

ILGA.gov uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse ILGA.gov you consent to our use of cookies.
Read About Cookies

ILGA.GOV

2026 ILGA.gov | All Rights Reserved |
ADA

|
Disclaimers
|
Learn

This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the
Legislative Information System, 705 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois 62706.
Contact ILGA Webmaster

ILGA.gov uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse ILGA.gov you consent to our use of cookies.
Read About Cookies

ILGA.GOV

2026 ILGA.gov | All Rights Reserved |
ADA

|
Disclaimers
|
Learn