House Resolution 98

A RESOLUTION ACKNOWLEDGING AND COMMENDING THE LIFE OF MRS. RUBY JEFFERSON WORSHAM AND CONGRATULATING HER UPON THE CELEBRATION OF HER 103RD BIRTHDAY.

WHEREAS, Mrs. Ruby Jefferson Worsham of Belzoni, Mississippi, is celebrating the blessed milestone of her 103rd birthday on March 9, 2013; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Worsham, a woman of grace and beauty, has seen America change from primarily an agricultural society to an advanced technological and industrial giant during her lifetime, and on her watch has observed the actions of numerous United States Presidents and Mississippi Governors; and

WHEREAS, the youngest of her siblings, Mrs. Worsham was born on March 9, 1910, to the late Thomas Walter Jefferson and Molly Ford Jefferson of Humphreys County, Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Worsham received her formal education from Old Lake School in Devolente, Mississippi, a black colony near Belzoni, and at Normal School in Belzoni; and

WHEREAS, as an adult, Mrs. Worsham lived in Morgan City, Mississippi, East St. Louis, Illinois, and then in Chicago, Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Worsham and James Coleman were united in matrimonial bonds in 1937 after a loving courtship, and they shared a wonderful marriage full of love, respect and honor until his death in 1948; and

WHEREAS, after the death of her first husband and at life's intersection of love and affection, the Lord sent her the love of her life in the person of Adolphus Worsham, plus the blessed gift of three stepsons to complete their family; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Worsham is a longtime member of the Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church of Chicago, and dutifully served in many capacities, including Sunday School Superintendent, Sunday School Teacher, Missionary Society member and other roles; and

WHEREAS, for 30 years Mrs. Worsham was employed by Wrigley's and Edelman Corporation as a packer and assembler, and she also worked as a care provider, home care aide, and a home engineer; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Worsham, a God-fearing woman and believer, was reared in the church, and one of her greatest joys is worshipping and serving God; and

WHEREAS, exemplary of her Christ-like love, Mrs. Worsham always put her family, community and neighborhood first and places herself a distant second in her daily life without complaint; and

WHEREAS, having lived during some of the most difficult eras in America's history, Mrs. Worsham has relied on God as the driving force in life, and through it all has truly been blessed with the gift of love; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Worsham enjoys writing and corresponds monthly with her first cousins, and loves keeping journals of her day-to-day activities and has done so for countless years; and

WHEREAS, affectionately known to her family as Aunt Ruby or Cousin Ruby depending on familial relationship, Mrs. Worsham always enjoys being with her family, including her cousin, the Honorable Representative Alyce Clarke; and

WHEREAS, known for steadfast service to her community and to God, Mrs. Worsham believes service to be rewarding, and taught others that serving the Lord forever pays off; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to honor and recognize the life of such an astonishingly noble, experienced and gentle soul as Mrs. Ruby Jefferson Worsham, whose life is a testament of her faith in God:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby acknowledge and commend the life of Mrs. Ruby Jefferson Worsham, congratulate her upon the occasion of celebrating her 103rd birthday and extend warmest wishes for many more years of good health, love and peace.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Mrs. Ruby Jefferson Worsham and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.