[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 203 (Wednesday, December 2, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1081]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





       IN HONOR OF MRS. GRACE VIRGINIA RICHARDSON HUMPHREY CUTTS

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                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 2, 2020

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
an inspiring woman, respected community leader, and a transgenerational 
pillar in Dawson, Georgia--Mrs. Grace Virginia Richardson Humphrey 
Cutts. Sadly, Mrs. Cutts passed away on Tuesday, November 17, 2020, at 
the remarkable age of 108. But she leaves behind a legacy of impact 
upon countless people whose lives she touched. Her funeral service was 
held on Tuesday, December 1, 2020, at 11 am at the Adoration Temperance 
Obedience Charity (ATOC) African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in 
Dawson, Georgia.
  Mrs. Grace Virginia Richardson Humphrey Cutts was born on March 2, 
1912, in Dawson, Georgia, to the union of Walter Revenna Richardson and 
Clara Louise Cochran Richardson.
  Mrs. Cutts was a person who overcame many obstacles to make a 
difference in the lives of others. She was raised in a time during 
which African Americans were limited in their opportunities to better 
themselves. But, Mrs. Cutts was undeterred and set out on a path to 
overcome all obstacles that would prevent her from carrying out God's 
calling upon her life.
  She graduated from Allen Normal and Industrial High School and 
enrolled in Georgia Normal and Agricultural College--now Albany State 
University, graduating in 1949.
  She served as a teacher for 45 years, using her gifts to impact the 
lives of thousands of young people who went on to achieve in no small 
part because of her influence. Even after she retired, she continued to 
make a difference in the lives of young people through tutoring and 
mentoring.
  The course and the direction of her life were set by the name she was 
given at birth--Grace. She was proud of her character and used that 
character to exhibit grace and compassion to all with whom she came in 
contact. She kept God as the center of her life and the captain of her 
ship. She was a member of the ATOC AME Church for an astonishing 102 
years. Besides being the Mother of the Church, she served during 
various times as the church pianist, secretary, and Stewardess.
  In addition to being dedicated to her church and her community, she 
was a wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. Her family was 
always supportive and through the years, allowed her to give her time 
and treasure to God and her community. She was married to the late 
Calvin Homer Humphrey and the late Sammie Lee Cutts; was the loving 
mother to the late Calvin Walter Humphrey; and she was a doting 
grandmother and great grandmother.
  Former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm once said that ``If they don't 
give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.'' We are so 
thankful that Mrs. Grace Cutts always brought a folding chair and used 
her life's work to make a difference. 1 Peter 4:10 says, ``Each of you 
should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful 
stewards of God's grace in its various forms.'' Mrs. Cutts exemplified 
that grace because of her faith in God and used God's grace to serve 
others in a mighty way. To God Be The Glory for the amazing and 
meaningful life of Mrs. Grace Virginia Richardson Humphrey Cutts.
  Madam Speaker, my wife, Vivian and I, along with the more than 
730,000 people of the Second Congressional District, and all those who 
mourn her loss, salute Mrs. Grace Virginia Richardson Humphrey Cutts 
for her lifetime of service to humankind. I ask my colleagues in the 
House of Representatives to join us in extending our deepest 
condolences to Mrs. Cutts' family during this difficult time of 
bereavement. We pray that they will be consoled and comforted by an 
abiding faith and the Holy Spirit in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

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