A house RESOLUTION

TO CONGRATULATE CLARA SINGLETON WILLIAMS OF AIKEN COUNTY ON THE HAPPY OCCASION OF HER ONE HUNDREDTH BIRTHDAY AND TO WISH HER A JOYOUS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION AND MANY YEARS OF CONTINUED HEALTH AND HAPPINESS.

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives are delighted to learn that Clara Singleton Williams of Salley will celebrate her centennial birthday on Tuesday, April 9, 2024; and

Whereas, born on April 9, 1924, in the first quarter of the twentieth century, she has witnessed many remarkable social changes that have spanned the globe from that time into the first quarter of the twenty-first century: segregation, discrimination, racism, the Great Depression, World War II, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Brown vs Board of Education, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Million Man March on Washington, and the Emanuel Nine; and

Whereas, a native of South Carolina, Mrs. Williams is the daughter of Mr. Isaiah Singleton and Mrs. Annie Livingston Singleton of Fairfield County.  Forever the humanitarian, she acknowledged her faith at an early age and was baptized at Good Hope Baptist Church in Ridgeway.  Later she moved her membership to Samaria Baptist Church in Springfield and still faithfully attends there; and

Whereas, she launched her life path on the road to become a centurion by attending schools in Fairfield, Aiken, and Orangeburg counties.  She was able to graduate from Wilkerson High School in Orangeburg because her parents sent her to Orangeburg where she boarded in order to attend school.  She completed two years at Claflin University; and

Whereas, Mrs. Williams was married to her beloved husband, Blanton Everett Williams, for sixty-one years until his death in 2007.  Together they reared ten fine children who blessed them with the love of twenty-nine grandchildren, forty-five great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren; and

Whereas, Mr. and Mrs. Williams purchased a home and land in Salley where they would farm, and to this day, she enjoys watching the vegetables and her flowers grow; and

Whereas, with many warm-hearted memories, she perseveres with the survival skills that have led her thus far and with the support of family, faith, and the community she has loved and helped; and

Whereas, the House of Representatives is pleased to honor this daughter of South Carolina at the celebration of her one hundredth birthday, and the members join with her family and friends in congratulating her on reaching this extraordinary milestone.  Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, congratulate Clara Singleton Williams of Aiken County on the happy occasion of her one hundredth birthday and wish her a joyous birthday celebration and many years of continued health and happiness.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Clara Singleton Williams.

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