A well-known pastor and her husband of over three decades were killed in a hit-and-run accident Monday night in Pullman on the Far South Side.
Officers found Apostle Dr. Yvonne Lee-Wilson and Adelbert Wilson in their wrecked car around 11:15 p.m. at 111th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, Chicago police said.
Adelbert, 69, was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he died, officials said. Yvonne, 66, was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where she also died.
Police said the accident was being investigated as a hit-and-run but released no other details.
“They were some extremely beautiful people,” said fellow pastor Lolita Luckett, adding that she knew the couple for years.
“She was a great woman and she left a great legacy behind,” Luckett said. “She touched the lives of many, many people, too many to even count. In and out of Illinois.”
Yvonne Lee-Wilson came from a family of clergy and had been involved in the ministry for over 35 years. She served over 25 years as senior pastor at Body of Christ Deliverance Ministries, 741 W. 115th St., a few miles west of the crash.
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In 2013, Ald. Carrie Austin (34th) introduced a resolution in the City Council honoring Lee-Wilson for her many years supporting those in the West Pullman area.
Lee-Wilson was born in Chicago and earned her Bachelor’s degree from Chicago State University. Then she earned a Master’s and later a Doctorate of Divinity from St. Michael’s Institution, the resolution noted.
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The couple, who were married for over 34 years, leave behind two daughters, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, according to the ministry’s website.