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TO CONGRATULATE BERTHA SYDNEY WILLIAMS STEWART OF RICHLAND COUNTY ON THE OCCASION OF HER NINETY-FIRST BIRTHDAY AND TO WISH HER MANY YEARS OF CONTINUED HEALTH AND HAPPINESS AS SHE MOVES TO JOIN HER DAUGHTER IN NORTH CAROLINA.
Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives are delighted to learn that Bertha Stewart celebrated her ninety-first birthday on August 27, 2016; and
Whereas, born in York on August 27, 1925, in the same year that Chrysler, the manufacturer of her favorite cars, was founded, she has witnessed the remarkable social changes, technological advancements, and international developments that have spanned the globe from that time into the second decade of the twenty-first century; and
Whereas, the youngest of ten children born to Jeff and Minnie Robinson Williams, Bertha owned her own pig and rode the family's horse bareback until her father insisted she should have a saddle; and
Whereas, at an early age she learned to care for others as her mother sent her with dishes for neighbors who were homebound for any reason. She attended Jefferson Elementary and High School, graduating in 1943 as valedictorian; and
Whereas, Bertha Stewart earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education and a minor in English cum laude from Barber-Scotia College in Concord, North Carolina, in 1947. After a year in a masters program at Columbia University in New York City, she returned to the South to accept a teaching position at Saxon Elementary School in Columbia; and
Whereas, in 1953, she met and married her beloved husband, Claude Ceazar Stewart, Jr., a firefighter with the Columbia Fire Department who retired from the department as assistant chief. Married for forty-six years until Chief Stewart's death in 1999, they were blessed with two children: Claude David who passed away the year after his birth and Evva Claudette who was born the following year. She has delighted her mother with the addition of one adoring grandson, Terrance Claude Hampton; and
Whereas, after teaching at Saxon for twelve years, Bertha Stewart moved to Burton Elementary School and then to Sarah Nance Elementary School, where she was named Teacher of the Year in 1975 and rose to the position of assistant principal; and
Whereas, she worked as an educator for more than three decades before retiring in 1980. Along the way, she found time to serve as a Girl Scout leader, learn how to crochet and knit, and learn to love line dancing and other exercise; and
Whereas, although she was born a Methodist, Bertha Stewart followed her husband to his church, Second Calvary Baptist where she has remained active as a member of the deaconess board, the Pulpit Aid Club, and the Golden Eagles; and
Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives are pleased to honor this daughter of South Carolina upon her ninety-first birthday and to bid her Godspeed as she begins a new chapter of her life in North Carolina. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, congratulate Bertha Sydney Williams Stewart of Richland County on the occasion of her ninety-first birthday and wish her many years of continued health and happiness as she moves to join her daughter in North Carolina.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be provided to Bertha Sydney Williams Stewart.
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