[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 20, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E867-E868]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        RECOGNIZING LAVINIA PERKINS MATHIS ON HER 100TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. AARON BEAN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 20, 2023

  Mr. BEAN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Ms. 
Lavinia Perkins Mathis on the occasion of her 100th birthday.
  Born on September 24, 1923, in Jacksonville, Florida, Ms. Mathis is 
the proud daughter of Camilla Bolton Perkins, a Jacksonville elementary 
school teacher, and Daniel W. Perkins, a prominent lawyer in 
Jacksonville. Ms. Mathis and her 2 sisters grew up in the Lavilla 
neighborhood of Jacksonville where she attended a wooden 2-story 
schoolhouse. She graduated from Old Stanton High School in 1942.
  Ms. Mathis attended Florida A&M College (now Florida A&M University) 
and graduated in 1946 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Home 
Economics. For 30 years, she taught science in Duval County Public 
Schools including at James Weldon Johnson Jr. High, Stilwell Jr. High, 
and Northwestern Jr. High until 1977.
  On June 15, 1948, she married Clarence F. Mathis, and they had 2 
children Cecelia Mathis and Marcia Mathis. Ms. Mathis is also a proud 
grandmother of 3 and great-grandmother. A devoted Catholic, Ms. Mathis 
loves her family and the Lord.

[[Page E868]]

  She became a Catholic while at Florida A&M College and when Ms. 
Mathis returned home to Jacksonville, Florida she joined St. Pius V 
Catholic Church. While a member of St. Pius, she served on several 
committees including the Altar Rosary Society, the Welcome and 
Outreach, and All Saints Auxiliary.
  Ms. Mathis is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and in 2019 
she became a Diamond member of Alpha Kappa Alpha having served 
faithfully as a member of the sorority for over 75 years.
  I am honored to recognize a dedicated servant to our community and 
the Lord, and I wish Ms. Mathis a wonderful 100th birthday.

                          ____________________