[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 179 (Tuesday, October 12, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1087]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING THE LIFE OF ESTELLE S. PRYOR

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 12, 2021

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
life of a remarkable servant, Ms. Estelle S. Pryor.
  Ms. Estelle S. Pryor was born May 8, 1929, to the late Charlie Smith 
and Lattie Howard Smith in Bourbon, MS. She was the sixth of eight 
children.
  She was previously married to the late Peter Griggs, Jr. and the late 
Bennie Pryor.
  Ms. Pryor received her elementary education in the Leland School 
District, her secondary education and High School diploma from Coleman 
Junior and Senior High School, in Greenville, MS. She went on to 
receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Childhood Elementary Education 
and Child Education Development from Mississippi Valley State 
University. Next, she received a CP Nurse Certificate from Homer G. 
Phillip Hospital School in St. Louis, MO in 1949. She also attended 
Deluxe Beauty College where she received a Cosmetology License in 1961, 
and studied Data Processing and Business at Moorhead Junior College.
  Ms. Pryor was the first African American female hired in the 
Washington County Courthouse as a Deputy Circuit Clerk, where she was 
later promoted to the position of Chief Deputy Clerk. When she was 
later elected as the Washington County Circuit Clerk, she became the 
first African American female elected to public office in Washington 
County since reconstruction. She held that position until her 
retirement in 1995, having been in office for over thirty years.
  Ms. Pryor lived an exemplary life. Her honors, memberships, 
associations, achievements, and prestigious awards, too numerous to 
name, span over nearly seven decades.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life of 
Ms. Estelle S. Pryor.

                          ____________________