A concurrent RESOLUTION

TO REQUEST THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION NAME THE INTERSECTION OF UNITED STATES HIGHWAY 15 AND BROWNTOWN ROAD IN LEE COUNTY "W.A. BERRY MEMORIAL INTERSECTION" AND ERECT APPROPRIATE MARKERS OR SIGNS AT THIS INTERSECTION CONTAINING THESE WORDS.

Whereas, born to the late Claude and Lila Reynolds Berry in the Lee County Community of Lucknow on September 28, 1923, Wallace Alvin "Bull" Berry went on to enjoy a celebrated career as a star baseball player and top producing farmer; and

Whereas, Mr. Berry attended Bishopville High School where he was starting catcher for the 1939 state baseball championship team. In 1941, he played for the Sumter P 15 in what would be a record season. Later in the 1940s, he had a brief stint with the Cincinnati Reds and also was ranked the top baseball player in the State of South Carolina; and

Whereas, Mr. Berry received a baseball scholarship to attend Presbyterian College, but his college career was interrupted by World War II. Enlisting, he proudly served his country as a member of the United States Army and subsequently graduated from Presbyterian College in 1950; and

Whereas, in December 1953 he married his loving wife Ruth Inabinet, a union that celebrated sixty-four years in 2017. Together they had one son, Russell Wallace. The couple relocated to Bishopville in 1956 and began a farming career that encompassed more than five thousand acres of land. Mr. Berry became South Carolina's top cotton producer and second top peanut producer in the 1980s and 1990s; and

Whereas, Mr. Berry departed his earthly life on February 9, 2018, survived by his wife Ruth, his son and daughter in law Russell Wallace and Andrea Berry, and his granddaughter, Hilary Frances Berry; and

Whereas, it is fitting and proper to pay tribute to this native son of the Palmetto State by naming an intersection in Lee County in his memory. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, request the Department of Transportation name the intersection of United States Highway 15 and Browntown Road in Lee County "W.A. Berry Memorial Intersection" and erect appropriate markers or signs at this intersection containing these words.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Department of Transportation.

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