Henry Soles Jr. (August 17, 1935 – January 18, 2018) was a minister based out of

Wheaton, Illinois Wheaton is a city in and the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It is located in Milton and Winfield Townships, approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, Wheaton's population was 53,970, making it the 27th-mos ...

, who served as the Senior chaplain for the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

for more than 30 years. His groundbreaking work in

DuPage County DuPage County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 932,877, making it Illinois' second-most populous county. Its county seat ...

helped establish more affordable housing options.

Early life

Soles was born in

Anniston, Alabama Anniston is a city and the county seat of Calhoun County, Alabama, Calhoun County in Alabama, United States, and is one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston–Oxford metropolitan area, Anniston–Oxford Metropo ...

, but was raised in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a City (New Jersey), city in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Nicknamed "The Queen City",

. There he attended Plainfield High School, and later received degrees from Manhattan Bible Institute and

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

. He spent the early part of his adult life as a minister and journalist in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. There he married his wife, Effie, who is also an ordained minister.

Ministry

Professional sports

The Soles family moved to Wheaton, Illinois, in 1969 after he accepted a job at Urban Ministries Inc. in

Calumet City Calumet City ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 36,033 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. History Calumet City (commonly referred to locally as "Cal City") was founded in 1893 ...

. His ministry in professional sports began in 1973 when he was asked to lead chapel services for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. Later in the decade he began to work with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

, and eventually left the Bears to focus on his new role. His experience with both teams led to him creating an organization in 1979 designed specifically to serve the spiritual needs of professional athletes, Intersports Associates Inc. That is also the year that he got the idea to lead chapel services as a volunteer for the Bulls. He approached former Bulls forward Dwight Jones with the idea. The Bulls approved of Soles as chaplain, and he then led those services, which were open to visiting teams as well, for the next three decades.

Ministry in the community

Soles' ministry was not confined to

Chicago Stadium Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago from 1929 to 1995. When it was built, it was the largest indoor arena in the world with a maximum seating capacity of 26,000. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and ...

, and later the

United Center The United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

. He led a Bible study in downtown Chicago, a ministry for ex-convicts, and another ministry titled Gospel Outreach, to serve young people in a Chicago housing project. As a resident of Wheaton, the DuPage County seat, he was heavily involved in the community where he resided. The Soles family was part of the ministerial staff at DuPage AME Church in

Lisle, IL Lisle ( ) is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,390 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the population was recorded to be 23,270. It is a south-western suburb of Chicago in the Illinois Technology and Research C ...

, and he also made a huge impact in DuPage County government. Soles helped found the Community Housing Association of DuPage. Through that organization hundreds of affordable housing units were built in the affluent county. He also served for 10 years as the chairman of the DuPage Housing Authority. His work around the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. ...

has earned him in several honors, including Wheaton's 2001 Adult Good Citizen award, and the Serenity House in

Arlington Heights, IL Arlington Heights is a village in Cook County Illinois, United States. A northwestern suburb of Chicago, it lies about northwest of the city's downtown. As of the 2020 census, the village's population was 77,676, making it the 15th-most popul ...

giving him their Man of the Year award.

Books

Soles edited two books which were published by

Tyndale House Tyndale House (also known by its sister organization Tyndale House Foundation) is a Christian publisher in Carol Stream, Illinois. History Tyndale was founded in 1962 by Kenneth N. Taylor in order to publish his paraphrase of the Epistles ...

, ''The Soul Food New Testament'' and the ''Children of Color Bible''.

Death and Illness

Soles battled Alzheimer's disease late in his life. He died on January 18, 2018, in

Naperville, Illinois Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago located west of the city on the DuPage River. As of the 2020 United State ...

, of aspiration pneumonia.

References

External links

DuPage AME Church Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soles, Henry American chaplains Chicago Bulls personnel 1935 births 2018 deaths Plainfield High School (New Jersey) alumni Writers from Plainfield, New Jersey Writers from Anniston, Alabama Writers from Wheaton, Illinois Rutgers University alumni Journalists from New Jersey