MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2011 1st Extraordinary Session

To: Rules

By: Representative Perkins

House Resolution 13

(As Adopted by House)

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING MRS. ELIZABETH RATLIFF DUKES ON THE SPECIAL OCCASION AND THE CELEBRATION OF THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF HER BIRTH.

     WHEREAS, Mrs. Elizabeth Ratliff Dukes, born on September 11, 1936, to Arthur and Emma Williams Ratliff of Carroll County, Mississippi, will celebrate the 75th anniversary of her birth on Sunday, September 11, 2011; and

     WHEREAS, this special and blessed occasion for Mrs. Dukes is to be commemorated with a celebration in her honor, acknowledging, honoring and reflecting upon her motherhood, service and life on Saturday, September 10, 2011; and

     WHEREAS, a graduate of Broad Street High School and the retired proprietor of The Bargain Chest in Greenwood, Mississippi, Mrs. Dukes is a virtuous woman among countless individuals to bear the title as a wife, mother and grandmother, whose worth far exceeds the price of rubies, as she has withstood the tests of time and abounded in wisdom and knowledge to become the matriarch of four generations; and

     WHEREAS, having been blessed to experience a life of love and happiness, Mrs. Dukes united in holy matrimony to Mr. Eugene Dukes of Blytheville, Arkansas, and together their union has been blessed with four adoring children:  Gail (Edward) Lynch, Vance (Selestine) Ratliff, Phyllis (Jesse) Hughes and Jacqueline (Oscar) Mason; and were further rewarded by the fruit of their family tree with 14 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; and

     WHEREAS, the possessor of the natural gift of being a Good Samaritan, helping anyone in any manner she could, Mrs. Dukes lived in Chicago for 20 years prior to returning to Mississippi, to reside in Leflore County in 1971; and

     WHEREAS, Mrs. Dukes has always been actively involved in the fulfillment of her Christian duties with a faith in God unparalleled by any other while a member of Sycamore Street Church of Christ where she is a member of the Christian Women at Work auxiliary and was acknowledged with a program in her honor designating her as Woman of the Year in 2009, in addition to being a member of the Electra Grand Chapter Order of the Eastern Star, Sidon Chapter #79; and

     WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to commend the life of such an outstanding individual as Mrs. Dukes, who attributes her life well-lived to good, clean, moral living and her faith in God, as she celebrates this most grand occasion with her family and friends while holding fast to the scriptural motto recorded in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.":

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend the life of Mrs. Elizabeth Ratliff Dukes, in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of her birth on Sunday, September 11, 2011, and express sincere wishes for sustained health, joy, peace and prosperity for many years to come.

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Mrs. Elizabeth Ratliff Dukes and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.