|
|
|
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
|
|
WHEREAS, A generous and productive life drew to a close with |
|
the passing of Gratie Mae Potts of Clarksville on March 19, 2009, at |
|
the age of 88; and |
|
WHEREAS, The daughter of Berry and Effie Thompson, Gratie |
|
Potts was born in Clarksville on August 21, 1920; she graduated from |
|
Cheatham High School and went on to earn her bachelor's degree from |
|
Prairie View A&M University; after graduation, she married her |
|
college sweetheart, Frank Robinson, and the couple later became the |
|
parents of a treasured daughter, Janet; and |
|
WHEREAS, Mrs. Potts began her teaching career in Deport and |
|
then taught second grade at Central Elementary School and English |
|
at Central High School in New Boston, where she also coached the |
|
girls' basketball team to two district championships; in 1959, this |
|
esteemed educator returned to her alma mater and taught at Cheatham |
|
High until the end of segregation enabled her transfer to |
|
Clarksville High School; Mrs. Potts instilled in her students a |
|
love of learning and encouraged them to reach their full potential, |
|
earning their lasting respect and admiration; and |
|
WHEREAS, She married Willie D. Potts in 1957, and she was a |
|
devoted wife and mother to a family that grew to include four more |
|
daughters, Betty, Ester, Brenda, and Gloria, as well as three sons, |
|
Franklin, Samuel, and Willie Potts, Jr.; Mrs. Potts eventually |
|
welcomed 20 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren, and 5 |
|
great-great-grandchildren into the family, and extended loving |
|
maternal care to her cousins, Patricia, Chelsey, Octavia, and |
|
Clayton Ricks, and most recently to Chelsey's daughter, De'Jah, and |
|
Octavia's son, Braden, in the next generation; and |
|
WHEREAS, Following her retirement in 1986, Mrs. Potts devoted |
|
herself to her community, continuing to teach others through her |
|
example of good works; she served as president of the Red River |
|
County chapter of the American Cancer Society and as a dynamic |
|
volunteer for the East Texas Medical Center Clarksville Auxiliary, |
|
Relay for Life, Helping Hands, the Retired Senior Volunteer |
|
Program, and the public library's thrift store; moreover, she was a |
|
member of PRIDE, the Retired Teachers Association, and Heroines of |
|
Jericho; a keen supporter of the democratic process, she attended |
|
meetings for political candidates and encouraged her fellow |
|
citizens to exercise their right to vote; and |
|
WHEREAS, Mrs. Potts joined Zion Traveler Baptist Church at an |
|
early age and went on to become a deaconess; she served the church |
|
in a variety of capacities, including program chair, mission |
|
teacher, announcement clerk, and funeral committee chair; in the |
|
late 1980s, she also became known as one of the "Golden Girls," |
|
attending numerous church functions with her friends, Mildred |
|
Pearson, Lillie Williams, and Norma Williams, and acting as the |
|
charming group's chauffeur; moreover, she helped maintain longtime |
|
friendships as a member of the Cheatham High School Reunion |
|
Advisory Committee and never missed a reunion; and |
|
WHEREAS, Gratie Potts made a positive difference in countless |
|
lives through her commitment to education, to her community, and to |
|
her family, and she will long be remembered with the greatest |
|
affection by all who shared in the blessing of her love and |
|
friendship; now, therefore, be it |
|
RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas |
|
hereby pay tribute to the life of Gratie Mae Potts and extend |
|
sincere sympathy to the members of her family: to her daughters, |
|
Janet Porter, Ester Barber, Brenda Wilburn, and Gloria Barber; to |
|
her son, Samuel W. Potts; to her 20 grandchildren, 23 |
|
great-grandchildren, and 5 great-great-grandchildren; to her |
|
cousins, Patricia, Chelsey and her daughter, De'Jah, Octavia and |
|
her son, Braden, and Clayton "C.J." Ricks; and to her many other |
|
relatives and friends; and, be it further |
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
|
Representatives and Senate adjourn this day, they do so in memory of |
|
Gratie Mae Potts. |
|
|
Homer |
|
|
|
______________________________ |
______________________________ |
|
President of the Senate |
Speaker of the House |
|
|
|
I certify that H.C.R. No. 200 was unanimously adopted by a |
|
rising vote of the House on May 4, 2009. |
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
Chief Clerk of the House |
|
|
|
I certify that H.C.R. No. 200 was unanimously adopted by a |
|
rising vote of the Senate on May 18, 2009. |
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
Secretary of the Senate |
|
APPROVED: __________________ |
|
Date |
|
|
|
__________________ |
|
Governor |