[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 122 (Friday, October 1, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1768]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO MRS. ROSABEL SIMMONS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSE E. SERRANO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 30, 2004

  Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mrs. Rosabel 
Simmons, an outstanding individual who has devoted her life to her 
family and to serving the community. Mrs. Simmons will be celebrating 
her 100th birthday in the company of her family and friends on 
Thursday, in my congressional district in the Bronx.
  Rosabel Simmons, known as Rose, was born on September 30, 1904, to 
York and Malsie Simmons on Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina. She was the 
youngest of seven children and received her formal education on the 
Island. She married John Simmons of Edisto Island, South Carolina, and 
they raised a total of nine children.
  Rose followed John to New York with two of their children in 1925. 
They resided at various locations in Harlem and the Bronx until they 
finally settled in Bronx County. She worked in the hotel industry and 
was a union member. After her retirement, she opened a retail 
establishment that she owned with her husband on Union Avenue in the 
Bronx.
  Rose is a strong advocate of education and sent all of her children 
to local public schools from elementary school through college. Never 
one to sit on the sidelines when it came to her children and 
grandchildren, Rose converted from the Methodist Church to the Catholic 
Church to support her grandchildren when they entered the Catholic 
school system. She always insisted on raising the bar of excellence and 
held each of her children and grandchildren to the same high standard.
  This affectionate, tenacious woman serves as the matriarch of her 
family. She is frequently consulted by her children, grandchildren and 
great grandchildren for advice, guidance and reassurance. Rose 
attributes her longevity to her father's genes; York Simmons lived to 
be 114 years of age, and one of her older sisters, Jestine Simmons 
Mathews, lived to be 110 years of age. Both resided in Charleston, 
South Carolina.
  Her motto is very simple: When you reach the tender age of 100 years, 
life becomes very simple. Good food, a good John Wayne or Clint 
Eastwood movie and continuing civic responsibility. For her birthday 
gift she asked ``everyone eligible to vote to make it to their polling 
station and vote.''
  Rose has seen many elections and believes voting is a right which we 
must exercise, if we are to maintain the privilege, a privilege she is 
determined will pass on to her great, great grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say that one of Rose's granddaughters, 
Mrs. Cheryl Simmons-Oliver, is my district office director and has 
worked for me for more than 10 years.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me and the family of Mrs. 
Rosabel Simmons in wishing her a very happy 100th birthday.

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