[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1099 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1099

              Honoring the life of Arbella Perkins Ewings.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 10, 2008

Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas (for herself and Ms. Jackson-Lee of 
 Texas) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
              Honoring the life of Arbella Perkins Ewings.

Whereas Arbella Perkins Ewings was born on March 13, 1894, on a farm in 
        Freestone County, Texas, the fourth eldest of 12 children whose great 
        grandparents had been slaves in Mississippi;
Whereas Arabella Perkins Ewings married Frank Ewings in 1915, and they moved to 
        south Dallas in 1936, where she worked as a housekeeper until the 1960s;
Whereas Mr. Ewings died in 1977 and the couple's only daughter, Claudia, died in 
        1970;
Whereas, although Mrs. Ewings lived alone for many years in their home on 
        Bradshaw Street, eight generations of her family kept a watchful eye on 
        her;
Whereas Mrs. Ewings was known for her meticulously clean house, clothes, and 
        garden, and, in particular, she was known for the gardenias she kept in 
        her front yard, the juicy hamburgers she served on the grill, and her 
        sense of humor;
Whereas Mrs. Ewings took pride in being able to care for herself and her home 
        well after she turned 100;
Whereas in recent years, Mrs. Ewings resisted her family's attempts to help her 
        care for her 900-square-foot home, and after breaking her hip at a 
        family gathering celebrating her 113th birthday, she was forced to move 
        into a retirement community;
Whereas on March 13, 2008, Arbella Perkins Ewings celebrated her 114th birthday, 
        making her the oldest person in Texas, the second-oldest American, and 
        the third-oldest person in the world;
Whereas if there were any secrets to her longevity, Mrs. Ewings gave credit to 
        having lived a clean life and keeping mainly to herself;
Whereas on March 22, 2008, nine days after her birthday celebration, Mrs. Ewings 
        died at Grace Presbyterian Village, a retirement community where she had 
        lived for almost a year;
Whereas Mrs. Ewings' great grandniece, Ms. Ruby Perkins Williams, said that Mrs. 
        Ewings told her that the ``secret to a long life is she spent six months 
        minding her own business and six months leaving other people alone''; 
        and
Whereas Mrs. Ewings is survived by eight generations of nieces and nephews and 
        her lone living sister, Annie Lee Perkins, who at 103 lives in a nursing 
        home in Streetman, Texas: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives commemorates the life 
of Arbella Perkins Ewings and conveys its sorrow and deepest 
condolences to her family on the death of this African American woman 
who lived to 114 years of age.
                                 <all>