House Resolution 21

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE LIFE AND LONGEVITY OF MRS. EVELYN CLAUSON SPENCER CHISM AND CONGRATULATING HER ON CELEBRATING THE OCCASION OF HER 90TH BIRTHDAY ON FEBRUARY 20, 2019.

WHEREAS, on February 20, 1929, J. Calvin Coolidge was fourteen days from completing his term as the 30th President of the United States before Herbert Hoover would be sworn in as the 31st President of the United States; Theodore Bilbo was in the second year of his term as the 43rd Governor of the State of Mississippi; electricity was decades away from rural Mississippi; the invention of the first electronic television was only two years old; the first programmable computers were seven years in the distant future; mechanized farming was only a fledgling vision in a field of dreams; the Congressional passage of the women's right to vote was less than four months from its 10th anniversary; and eight months and nine days before the stock market crashed and the worst economic crisis seized hold of the United States and the entire world in what became infamously the Great Depression, that would span the course of ten years; however, on this day, a wonder, by the name of Evelyn Clauson Spencer Chism was born in Berry, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama; and

WHEREAS, the eighth of nine children born, a precious gift of life and love to her parents, Sallie Frances Oswalt and Perry Jackson Spencer, Clauson who lived a very agrarian and nomadic life on farms the early years of her life from Berry, Alabama, before relocating with her mother and younger sister to the Mississippi Golden Triangle area of Columbus, Mississippi, in 1941, now celebrates the most auspicious occasion of the 90th anniversary of her birth on Wednesday, February 20, 2019, with her family and friends in acknowledgment of her motherhood and service; and

WHEREAS, from her humble beginnings in Tuscaloosa County to the mainstay of her life in Mississippi, Clauson, who was educated at the New Hope School was raised on a system of integrity premised on the tenets of love, kindness and compassion imparted by her mother and older sister who instilled a central moral compass that echoed the heart of the Good Samaritan and core ethical values encompassed in the importance of work, family, community and the love of God, which was further nurtured when she began attending and became a member of Mt. Zion Baptist Church; and

WHEREAS, the Salutatorian of her 1947 New Hope School graduating class, Clauson, who served as captain of the girls basketball team, is credited with naming the school's mascot in 1945 as the "Trojan"; and

WHEREAS, as fate would lend itself to the building upon the blueprint divinely designed for the pattern of her life by the Great Deity and grand architect of our lives' design, the former Ms. Spencer's heart was pierced by the love, chivalry and affection of Mr. Cleo Chism, and the duo became bone of one another's bone and flesh of one another's flesh after exchanging the nuptials of holy matrimony shortly after her high school graduation in 1947, building a lifetime of memories to be shared with the fruitful addition of their offspring and sharing in life's momentous occasions; and

WHEREAS, known for her kindness and willingness to assist others, Clauson has devoted her life to the fulfillment of the role of providing for her four-generational family and assisting her husband with supplementing the family income through her gainful employment through the years with Pepsi Cola, The Commercial Dispatch, Life of Georgia Insurance Company, Feed Mill, Dill & Norris Company, Inc., and Columbus Insurance Services; and

WHEREAS, a God-fearing Christian before all other roles she assumed, a devoted wife and nurturing mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Clauson, affectionately known as "Grandy" to family and friends alike, is the living embodiment of a woman of Proverbs 31:10 distinction and possessing the ambitious spirit akin to that of King David, she is a woman after God's own heart, committed to her faith, her family and her friends, being an upstanding pillar of the community as evidenced through her faithful membership to Mt. Zion Baptist Church for more than half a century, where she has diligently served in a variety of capacities, and was recognized as the church's longest attending member during its 175th Church Anniversary festivities; and

WHEREAS, the matriarch of her family dynasty, Clauson remains the archetype icon and central foundation of a family that retains an unbreakable bond of love, honor, devotion, commitment and encouragement for each generation; and

WHEREAS, at 90 years of age, Clauson continues to be a blessing to others through her impartation of words of Christian advice and wise counsel to those in her company as a reminder of God's unfailing love for us all, and continues to enjoy the affection, appreciation, encouragement, love and respect she has always stood in receipt of from her five children, Gary, Steve, Claudia, Lynn and Diana; seven grandchildren, Chris, Ashley, Daran, Jennifer, Jacob, Nick and Michael; and four great-grandchildren, Andrew, Cade, Bailey and Emery; and

WHEREAS, having lived in two centuries, including the hardship of the Great Depression, Clauson has seen America change from an agrarian society to an advanced technological industrial giant, and on her watch she has seen 16 different United States Presidents and 21 Magnolia State Governors; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to commend the life of remarkable individuals such as Clauson, who still exudes the gentle strength that has sustained her throughout this journey, and whose life is a testament to God's promise of longevity to those who diligently seek Him and obey His will:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend the life and longevity of Mrs. Evelyn Clauson Spencer Chism, congratulate her on this most auspicious occasion of celebrating her 90th birthday on February 20, 2019, and express sincere wishes for many more years of continued health, love, joy and happiness.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Mrs. Evelyn Clauson Spencer Chism and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.