[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 183 (Tuesday, November 29, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1185]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO REVEREND FRANK E. WILLIAMS, JR.

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                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 29, 2022

  Mr. CLYBRUN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a devoted 
preacher, trusted funeral director, and beloved community leader, 
Reverend Frank E. Williams, Jr. Affectionately known as Frank, Jr., 
Rev. Williams transitioned on October 12, 2022, in his hometown of 
Sumter, South Carolina. His lifelong commitment to his community was 
deeply felt and will be sorely missed.
  Reverend Frank E. Williams, Jr. was born on October 8, 1952, in 
Sumter, South Carolina to the late Reverend Frank E. Williams, Sr. and 
Magnolia Robinson Williams. He attended public schools in Sumter County 
before pursuing a bachelor's degree in Sociology at Benedict College in 
Columbia, South Carolina. He later attended the Gupton-Jones College of 
Funeral Service in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was a member of the 
National Morticians Fraternity, Pi Sigma Eta. He graduated in 1976 with 
a diploma in Funeral Service Sciences.
  Frank, Jr. returned to Sumter to begin work at his family's funeral 
home. He became the youngest funeral director and embalmer in Sumter, 
South Carolina. Throughout the next 46 years, he would touch the lives 
of hundreds of families in this role as he guided them through some of 
their most difficult times.
  Rev. Williams, a Godfearing man, recognized his calling to preach the 
gospel during his membership at Rafting Creek Missionary Baptist 
Church. He received his license to preach on June 8, 2003 and was 
ordained on May 30, 2004. Shortly thereafter, he founded Faith 
Missionary Baptist Church, which he faithfully pastored until his 
health declined.
  I knew Frank, Jr. well through his civic endeavors throughout the 
Sumter community, the state of South Carolina and beyond. At one time 
he was the youngest person to serve on the Sumter County Council 
representing District 5, a position which he held honorably for 12 
years. He spearheaded the effort to erect a statue in honor of Dr. Luns 
C. Richardson of Morris College, who became the longest-serving college 
President in South Carolina. The statue was erected on Morris College's 
campus in 2021.
  Throughout his life, Frank, Jr. was an active member of several 
social orgainzations. He was 33 Grand Inspector General of the C.C. 
Johnson Consistory No. 136 and served as Worshipful Master of Catchall 
Masonic Lodge No. 425. He was also a lifelong member of the NAACP and 
participated in several civil rights actions, including the 1995 
``Million Man March'' in Washington, D.C.
  Frank, Jr. is survived by his wife of 40 years, Mrs. Thoma Lewis 
Williams and 4 children, Marcus Evans, M. Brooke Williams, Frank E. 
Williams, III, and Thomas Wesley Williams, and 2 grandchildren, Nova 
Imani Williams, and Malik Rivers.
  Madam Speaker, I ask that you and our colleagues join me in honoring 
the remarkable life led by Reverend Frank E. Williams, Jr. His work as 
a minister, funeral director and county council member cemented him in 
the bedrock of his community. He has left an indelible mark on those 
around him and was an inspiration to us all.

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