[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 12, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E192]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E192]]
          HONORING ALMA MATILDA WALTERS ON HER 100TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 11, 2003

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mrs. Alma 
Matilda Walters on the occasion of her 100th birthday, which will take 
place next week on February 22nd.
  Mrs. Walters was born on February 22, 1903, in Palmetto Point, St. 
Kitts, British West Indies. She immigrated to the United States in her 
early teens and like so many immigrants of that era, she entered the 
U.S. through Ellis Island. Mrs. Walters eventually settled in Jersey 
City, New Jersey, married and raised her first five children (Delores, 
Irene, Marjorie, Florence and John) there. Her first marriage ended in 
divorce and she was forced to raise her children as ``a single mother'' 
well before the phrase became a part of today's popular culture. Mrs. 
Walters did so while working as a church assistant and domestic worker 
to the Lerner family, the owners of the Lerner clothing store chain.
  Mrs. Walters worked as a nurse's aide at Community Hospital in 
Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood for many years. She was an active 
member of Local 1199 and participated in union activities during her 
working years as well as after her retirement in 1977. She was also an 
active member of the Miller Avenue Block Association and a life-long 
Democrat.
  Later in life, she met and married M/Sgt. Ulysses Walters. The 
Walters traveled throughout the United States and lived in Texas, 
Oklahoma and Georgia before returning to Brooklyn, New York in 1963. 
Together, they adopted a son, Frank Edward. Mrs. Walters' husband, 
Ulysses, died in 1975.
  Mrs. Walters resided at 399 Miller Avenue in the East New York 
section of Brooklyn from 1964 until the spring of 2000 when she 
suffered a hip fracture and needed extensive nursing care. She is 
currently residing at the Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in Brooklyn, 
New York.
  Mrs. Alma Matilda Walters currently has 96 direct descendants who are 
alive. This number includes six generations. She is an outstanding 
example of a woman who came to America to improve her own life and 
contributed in many ways to the success of her family, children and 
community. She struggled and endured during some of the most difficult 
times in our history. Although she only had the equivalent of an eighth 
grade education, she always inspired each of her children to be the 
best at whatever they chose to do in life.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the lifetime 
achievements of this remarkable woman, Mrs. Alma Matlida Walters, as 
she celebrates her 100th birthday on February 22, 2003.

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