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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF A MAN WITH A VISION MR. LAFAYETTE GATLING SR.
WHEREAS, A pioneer, a visionary and the source of comfort for millions over his illustrious 40+ year career. Born in 1940, Mr. Lafayette Gatling, Sr., a native of Seaboard North Carolina emerged from humble beginning to become one of the nation's premiere innovators and preeminent figures in the funeral business; and
WHEREAS, It was 1945, during World War, II that he was challenged at the very tender age of five by the loss of his mother. His father, Raymond Gatling, at the time of his wife's death, was somewhere in a fox hole in New Guinea fighting for his country. He arrived home six months later to find out about the loss of his wife and his very devastated little boy; and
WHEREAS, It was through this traumatic experience of losing his mother and waiting six months for his father that the five-year-old Lafayette envisioned providing comfort to those experiencing the loss of their loved one. From conducting the funerals services of chickens in his North Carolina backyard to building one of the largest funeral homes in the country, that seed of sorrow created a harvest of help, hope and healing to millions within the greater Chicagoland area; and
WHEREAS, During the years of his upbringing, he weathered the challenges of a one parent home and made his spectacular inroads into the footprints of time and sprang forth in his adult years with a degree in HVAC, a certificate in welding and cable splicing. In addition to caring for families, Mr. Lafayette Gatling Sr., served as a General Contractor for over thirty-nine years and a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134 for over forty-five years; and
WHEREAS, He merged the sincerity of his heart and the skilled expertise of his hands by physically building Gatling's Chapel Chicago with his own hands. Additionally, he volunteered his skills to erect multiple churches for no charge along w...
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