[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 29, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E281]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IN CELEBRATION OF MRS. GRACE VIRGINIA RICHARDSON HUMPHREY CUTTS' 100TH 
                                BIRTHDAY

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                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 29, 2012

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
inspiring mentor, beloved educator, respected community leader and a 
trans-generational pillar in Dawson, Georgia--Mrs. Grace Virginia 
Richardson Humphrey Cutts. On Saturday, March 3, 2012, Mrs. Cutts will 
be honored at an event celebrating her 100th birthday. This highly 
anticipated event will be attended by Mrs. Cutts' family members, 
friends, former colleagues, well-wishers and former students.
  Mrs. Grace Virginia Richardson Humphrey Cutts was born on March 2, 
1912 in Dawson, Georgia to Walter Revenna Richardson and Clara Louise 
Cochran Richardson. As a 92-year member of the Adoration Temperance 
Obedience Charity African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Dawson, 
Georgia, Mrs. Cutts is a woman who has been guided by her strong moral 
convictions and Christian faith. As a tenured member of Adoration 
Temperance Obedience Charity AME Church, Mrs. Cutts has served as the 
church pianist, secretary and a stewardess.
  Mrs. Cutts was raised in the rural South in the 1920s, a period in 
our nation's history in which most African-Americans had limited 
opportunities to pursue their educational dreams. Despite the numerous 
societal challenges that lay in her path, Mrs. Cutts would go on to 
graduate from Allen Normal and Industrial High School. After she 
obtained her high school diploma, Mrs. Cutts enrolled in Georgia Normal 
and Agricultural College and graduated from the institution in 1949.
  Understanding the importance of a quality education, Mrs. Cutts 
served as a teacher for 45 years. As an instructor, Mrs. Cutts helped 
generations of young scholars reach their full potential and obtain 
excellent educations. Even in retirement, Mrs. Cutts continued to serve 
as a mentor and tutor for young students in her community.
  Mrs. Cutts has achieved numerous successes in her life, but none of 
this would have been possible without the support of her late first 
husband Calvin Homer Humphrey; late second husband Sammie Lee Cutts; 
late son Calvin Walter Humphrey; grandchildren; and great-
grandchildren.
  George Washington Carver once said, ``How far you go in life depends 
on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, 
sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong 
because someday in your life you will have been all of these.'' Mrs. 
Cutts has advanced far in life because she never forgot these lessons 
and always kept God first.
  The race of life isn't given to the swift or to the strong, but to 
those who endure until the end. Mrs. Cutts has run the race of life 
with grace and dignity and God has blessed her over her lifetime.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in paying tribute 
to Mrs. Grace Virginia Richardson Humphrey Cutts as she and her family 
prepares to celebrate her 100th birthday.
  On a personal note, I would like to not only congratulate Mrs. Cutts 
on becoming a distinguished centenarian but also express my profound 
gratitude to her for her outstanding contributions to America's 
education system and her principled advocacy on behalf of our nation's 
students.

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