The Friday funeral for Judge Odas Nicholson, 88, is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church, 4100 S. King Dr., preceded by a noon visitation.
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The Friday funeral for Judge Odas Nicholson, 88, is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church, 4100 S. King Dr., preceded by a noon visitation.
Burial will follow immediately at Oak Woods Cemetery, 67th and Woodlawn.
Nicholson, who was born March 25, 1924 in Pickens, Mississippi, died March 10 in her sleep. She was the first African-American woman to serve as President of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois.
She was the seventh child of George and Temple Johnson Nicholson. Her parents and six siblings preceded her in death. The family moved to Chicago when she was 13 and she attended Chicago Public Schools, John Marshall High School, Wilson Junior College (Kennedy-King), DePaul University where she received her Bachelor of Philosophy and her J.D. degree from DePaul University College of Law.
During her career as an attorney, she represented Supreme Life Insurance Co. for many years and served as Chief Legal Officer for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for the Chicago and Kansas City regions.
She served as a Delegate to the Sixth Illinois Constitutional Convention (1969-1970), where she was elected Secretary of the Convention by the delegates. She participated as a Fellow in the National Endowment for Humanities “Law & Justice in American Society” at Harvard University in 1977.
Nicholson was appointed Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County by the Supreme Court of Illinois in November 1980 and was elected to a full term in November 1982. She served ass a Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County for 14 years prior to her retirement in December 1994. She was the first African-American woman assigned to the Law Division of the Court and the first woman assigned to the Motions Section where she served for eight years. She was also the first woman assigned an individual calendar.
She was a member of the following professional organizations: American Bar Association, National Bar Association of Women Judges, Illinois State Bar Association, Cook County Bar Association, Women’s Bar Association of Illinois (past president), Board of Managers of the Chicago Bar Association and Board of Directors of the Chicago Bar Foundation.
She was also affiliated with many civic organizations: NAACP, Joint Negro Appeal, Chicago Youth Centers and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Her many awards and citations include JNA’s Award for Outstanding Service to the Community; three terms as president; the Illinois Associate Judges Award for Recognition for Valuable Contributions to the Ill. Judicial System, Chicago Youth Centers’ Appreciation Award; the Beatrice Caffrey Youth Services Annual Merit Award; Operation PUSH Achievement Award for Law and Operation PUSH’s Distinguished Service Award; and the first recipient of IJC’s Edith S. Sampson’s Memorial Award.
She was an active member of Metropolitan Community Church where she was a member of the Board of Trustees and served as its attorney for several years.
Nicholson leaves precious memories with her three nieces, Shirley Hinton, Patricia E. Conner, June Watson (Franklin); three nephews, Miguel, Romero (Teri) and Damian (Sharon); two great nephews, John V. Hinton Jr., Justin L. Conner; five great nieces, Kaela, Kiana, Cerlena, Cameron, Renee and a host of other family members and many dear friends.