[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 93 (Monday, June 11, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1234-E1235]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     DEATH OF THOMAS A. STALLWORTH

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN M. SPRATT, JR.

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 7, 2007

  Mr. SPRATT. Madam Speaker, for years, Thomas A. Stallworth was a 
pillar of Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC, serving as chaplain, 
professor of religion, soccer coach, dean of students, dean of alumni 
affairs, and after retirement, as interim director of church relations. 
He died suddenly on May 14, 2007. I offer for the record the following 
tribute from John V. Griffith, president of Presbyterian College:

                Tom Stallworth: Our Man for All Seasons

       God's saints come in interesting sizes and shapes. They are 
     agents of God's grace in the most unexpected of ways. So it 
     is with Tom Stallworth.
       In the fall of 1951, Tom Stallworth was a freshman at PC 
     from the south side of Atlanta. As an undergraduate he joined 
     and loved the PC choir under the direction of Eduard Patte, 
     was involved in student government, led the Student Christian 
     Association, enjoyed athletics, belonged to Pi Kappa Alpha 
     fraternity, was the leader of The Scottish Highlander 
     Battalion of ROTC, and was enjoyed by his classmates for his 
     sense of humor, love of life, and humble faith.
       After graduating from Columbia Theological Seminary and a 
     short stint at the First Presbyterian Church of Rome, 
     Georgia, Dr. Marshall Brown asked Tom to come to the College 
     to teach for two years. Pete Hay was on leave. Tom retired 36 
     years later, although the way I look at it, Tom worked at or 
     for PC for a total of 56 years. He has been PC's man for all 
     seasons.
       In the 1973 yearbook, one of three dedicated to Tom, he 
     wrote prophetic words, which I have come to see as 
     autobiographical . . . ``There is an ingredient in and of 
     this community which few miss. It's not obvious. Many take 
     some time to see it. You may not even want to look for 
     awhile. They do not leave the way they came. Look them up 
     three, five, ten years from now. Won't we all be surprised? 
     They will have a plus; it will show!''
       Tom's plus showed. In him we saw much of what the College 
     seeks to nurture in the hearts and minds of those who pass 
     our way: a man for God, a man for God's people, and a man for 
     PC.
       Jack Edmunds, his senior year roommate remarked on Tom's 
     call to ministry: ``It was evident during his college days 
     that Tom would go into ministry, but he was never one to wear 
     his religion on his sleeve. He was not a pious type and that 
     impressed people. He personified what a good minister should 
     be.''
       Tom served God and served PC by serving God's people in 
     everyday ways . . . everyday: through athletics, through 
     music, through just doing his job . . . all of his jobs . . . 
     whatever hat he was called to wear he served with all his 
     heart and mind. Hello brother . . . T.A. Stallworth . . . 
     hearty, honest, positive . . . direct! T.A. Stallworth . . . 
     pleased to meet you. There wasn't a pretentious bone in his 
     body. What you saw, what you heard, what you learned over 
     time all lined up. T.A. Stallworth. Clear in what he believed 
     . . . courageous in taking a stance on principle . . . 
     available to serve. Thomas Aurelius Stallworth. I believe 
     he liked Aurelius . . . in fact it is the only time I saw 
     a twinge of hubris in the eyes of this saint. Thomas 
     Aurelius Stallworth, God's humble and persistent servant. 
     PC's man for all seasons.
       There are so many wonderful stories about this man and his 
     ministry. They have come flooding in from folks near and far, 
     always laced with humor.
       Athletics! Tom loved sports and found in them a way to 
     connect with God's people.
       He was on the way to lunch on campus and Cally Gault was on 
     the way back. Cally leaned out of his car window and asked, 
     ``How would you like to be our soccer coach?'' Tom said ``I 
     believe they have 11 men on a team, depending on how you 
     count the goalie.'' Cally said, ``You're our man!!''
       He was always an athlete . . . in college and as an adult. 
     The last real team he played on was the faculty Intramural 
     volleyball team named the ``Good Old Boys.'' They were very 
     serious about their volleyball and Tom is remembered by 
     teammates Ramsey, Stidham, Weaver, Womble, Gaines, 
     Rischbieter, Hill, Burnside and others as a great ``set man'' 
     on the court and in life. When asked his most interesting 
     experience he said ``playing on a championship volleyball 
     team with an average age of 43 that continually beats teams 
     with an average age of 19 is interesting enough!''
       Music! Music is another way Tom praised God and celebrated 
     life. The PC Choir served as his primary social group as an 
     undergraduate. He became a star of stage in 1981 when Dr. 
     Charles Gaines and Dr. Dale Raines recruited him to play the 
     part of Bellamy in

[[Page E1235]]

     the Fantasticks. He and Randy Randall have sung ``Never say 
     No'' for many audiences since then. It occurred to me that 
     ``Never Say No'' became the mantra of Tom's life. Never say 
     no to what God calls you to do. To my knowledge, he never 
     said no to PC.
       Tom and Chuck Gaines lead the singing at men's prayer 
     breakfast belting out the old favorites in a manner that 
     upstages Gilbert and Sullivan.
       Tom sang in an infamous singing group called ``The Faculty 
     Four and the Big One'' with George Ramsey, Ron Burnside, Ted 
     Hunter, and Ken Orr (the big one). One of their most 
     forgettable songs was Grandma got Run over by a Reindeer, 
     with Dean Thompson playing the banjo. One person said that 
     the group was really good . . . and no one has ever said 
     otherwise . . 
       Just doing his Job! It is here at PC as a minister of Word 
     and Sacrament that Tom served God's people most fully. The 
     entire PC network was his congregation.
       Tom and Major General Jimmy Allen started the ROTC Alumni 
     Association. But Tom always liked to remind Jimmy that even 
     though Jimmy was a two star general, Tom was his Battalion 
     Commander at PC. And together they set out to save ROTC when 
     it was in danger of being closed by the Army.
       Anyone who ever traveled with Tom knows that he did not 
     like to travel on the Interstates or any four lane highway. 
     He knew the back roads and always took them even if it took 
     longer . . . although he always thought his way was quicker. 
     One morning he intervened in my travel up Interstate 26 from 
     Edisto. Due to a traffic jam, I had to take the Dixiana 
     exit and enjoy the scenery along route 176. It was 
     shorter!
       ``The two years I spent as Dean of Students were the ten 
     longest years of my life,'' Tom told me once. ``I didn't get 
     closer to students; I got closer to meetings and paperwork. I 
     had to go back into the classroom to get back with the 
     students.''
       ``I never considered myself an ivory tower scholar,'' he 
     reflected on his 31 years as a professor. ``My method was to 
     mix it up with students. I could give them their money's 
     worth in the classroom, but I think my main ability was 
     communicating the information to them in a manner that sunk 
     in, and I enjoyed the give-and-take inside the classroom as 
     well as out.''
       Tom has conducted the marriage ceremonies of more PC people 
     than anyone in the history of the College. He knew more PC 
     people and their relatives than anyone I know . . . in every 
     city and every little town across the South.
       And through all of this, Mary was his partner. ``One of my 
     most memorable times at PC,'' wrote a 1990s graduate, ``was 
     the Easter weekend I spent writing a term paper at their 
     kitchen table. That was one of the best weekends of my life 
     because of the comfort I felt from Mary and Tom.
       Every Homecoming cars are parked outside their house . . . 
     people stopping by to visit and reconnect. ``I think the PC 
     Spirit is an infection I have,'' said Tom, ``whether it is 
     contagious or not I don't know. I'm 150 percent for PC and 
     have tried to answer the call of whatever the College has 
     wanted me to do.''
       The Class of 1963 dedicated their yearbook to Tom. Bob 
     Piephoff, the editor, summed up the class's feelings about 
     this good man: ``We come to Presbyterian College and we leave 
     . . . We leave taking a part of Tommy Stallworth with us.''
       Anne told me this morning that Tom took Andy and her aside 
     several years ago to talk about this day and his wishes. Tom 
     will be cremated and has asked on some weekday evening at 
     10:00 p.m. that they, his children, sprinkle his ashes along 
     the walk he took every evening of his college career from the 
     old library, now the administration building, diagonally 
     across the West Plaza to Smythe where he lived.
       And so it shall be . . . Mary, Anne, Andy, Becky Mary 
     Frances, Cooper, Max and Katie Brice . . . that Thomas 
     Aurelius Stallworth leaves a part of himself with all those 
     he touched.
       Man of God's people, Man for God's people, Man for PC. T.A. 
     Stallworth: PC's Man for All Seasons. Thank God for the life 
     and works of this saint, who walked, played, laughed, sang, 
     preached, and stood next to us each day. Amen!

                          ____________________