MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2000 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Senator(s) Johnson (38th)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE LIFE OF THE LATE MR. WILLIE LEE TOBIAS, SR., AND EXPRESSING THE SYMPATHY OF THE LEGISLATURE.

WHEREAS, the late Mr. Willie Lee Tobias, Sr., son of Mr. Aaron and Bessie Tobias, departed this life on Tuesday, March 7, 2000, at the age of 81 years, four months and 23 days; he was born on October 13, 1918, in Liberty, Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, as a youth, he attended the Burglund Elementary School in McComb and the Pike County AHS of Magnolia, Mississippi; later, he attended Rust College in Holly Springs; but this matriculation was interrupted, as he was drafted into military service during World War II; he served in the U.S. Army and was stationed primarily in Burma; he attained the rank of Staff Sergeant and was bestowed both the Asiatic-Pacific Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal; and

WHEREAS, after the war, Mr. Tobias completed post-secondary and graduate studies at New York University where he received the Bachelor of Science and the Master of Arts degrees, along with the Certificate of Advanced Study in school administration and supervision; he completed further studies at Rust College, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the University of Alabama and the University of Southern Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Tobias was a former teacher at Leflore County High School in Itta Bena and Pike County schools, and served as Principal at Coahoma Junior College's Agricultural High School in Clarksdale, Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Tobias received several official appointments and honorary proclamations from two of Mississippi's Governors -- including the State Post-Secondary Education Planning Board and the Advisory Board for Mississippi Educational Television; he also served as the State's Project Reviewer for the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Washington, D.C.; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Tobias was preceded in death by his parents, one sister, and his youngest son; he is survived by his wife of 58 years, Mrs. Lillian B. Tobias, his eldest son and daughter-in-law, Dr. & Mrs. W.L. Tobias, Jr., four granddaughters, one grandson, one grandson-in-law, one sister, several cousins, other relatives, friends and hundreds of former students and colleagues; and

WHEREAS, during his lifetime, he held numerous other governmental and lay positions of leadership and service at the local, state and federal levels; throughout, however, Mr. Tobias sought to increase the capacity of his community, collectively and individually, to chart and control its destiny by improving intellectual, social and economic vitality:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend the life of Mr. Willie Lee Tobias, Sr., as one rich with intellectual, social and economic vitality, and express the sympathy of the Legislature on his passing.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be presented to the Tobias family, and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.