IL SR0923

Dr. Marie Wilkinson of Aurora passed away on August 12, 2010, at age 101, having been born May 6, 1909, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Founded the St. Vincent DePaul Center on Sard Avenue in Aurora in 1961 and helped establish the Quad County Urban League, Aurora's Human Relations Commission (which she chaired for 40 years), and a food pantry and child development center bearing her name.

Worked as a civil rights crusader alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and met Rosa Parks and Mamie Till-Mobley, receiving the Catholic Church's Lumen Christi Award in 2001 for missionary work.

The Illinois Senate expresses condolences to her surviving family, including daughter Sheila Scott-Wilkinson, two granddaughters, and great-grandson Christopher Wilkinson.

A suitable copy of the resolution will be presented to Dr. Wilkinson's family as a symbol of the Senate's sincere sympathy.