[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 104 (Monday, June 22, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E595-E596]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF MRS. MARY LIZZIE PICKETT QUILLER

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 22, 2026

  Mr. BISHOP. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart, and with 
deep grdtitude, to honor the life and the lasting legacy of a beloved 
matriarch of Columbus, Georgia, Mrs. Mary Lizzie Pickett Quiller, known 
and loved by all who knew her simply as ``Honey.'' After a remarkable 
life that spanned a full century, Mrs. Quiller was called home to her 
reward on June 10, 2026, at the age of 100 years old.
  On Friday, June 19th, her family, her friends, and her community 
gathered at Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia--the very 
church home she faithfully served for more than 60 years--to celebrate 
her life and to lay her to rest. It is only right that this body, and 
this Nation, pause to remember a woman who gave 100 years of her life 
to her family, her faith, and her community.
  Mrs. Quiller was born on September 15, 1925, in Bullock County, 
Alabama, one of seven children raised by their devoted mother, Georgie 
Pickett. Of those seven, she and her sister, Annie Watkins, were the 
last two who remained--and today, with Honey's passing, her sister 
carries on as the last leaf on that family tree.
  Mr. Speaker, in the final season of her long life, Mrs. Quiller left 
her family a simple and humble request. She said: ``Let the works I 
have done speak for me.'' So, on the floor of this House today, I 
intend to honor that wish. I rise to let her works speak.
  Let her works speak of a young girl who became a second mother before 
her time. By her own sister's loving account, Honey helped care for her 
siblings through all their childhood years--and she went right on 
caring for them even after their mother, Georgie, passed away. When the 
family needed someone to hold it together, she was the one who stepped 
forward. And that was the pattern of her entire life.
  Let her works speak of a woman who, as I would describe her, simply 
was not a quitter. She believed in bettering herself, and through hard 
work and quiet determination she did exactly that. Mary Quiller earned 
an Associate Degree in Business from Albany State, a Master of 
Cosmetology, and a tailoring certificate. She refused to let her 
beginnings set the limits of her life.
  Let her works speak of a wife and a mother. She was the beloved wife 
of George Quiller and the devoted mother of two children, Jean and 
Jerry. And Mr. Speaker, I must pause here, because there is no heavier 
burden a parent can be asked to carry than to bury a child--and Mrs. 
Quiller knew that sorrow. for her beloved son, Jerry, preceded her in 
death. Yet somehow, by the grace of God, she kept right on standing, 
kept right on serving, and kept right on pouring her love into everyone 
around her. A heart that knew that depth of grief and still chose to 
give is a heart worthy of honor before this Nation. She is survived by 
her devoted daughter, Mary, her sister Annie Watkins, her grandson, 
Jeremy Quiller, her great grandchildren, and her great-great 
grandchild, who carried her name and her spirit forward.

[[Page E596]]

  Let her works speak of a faithful and tireless servant of God. For 
more than 60 years, Mrs. Quiller was an active member of Mount Pilgrim 
Baptist Church--the very sanctuary that will receive her home this 
Friday. She gave herself to that congregation in nearly every way a 
person can: as Assistant Superintendent of the Sunday School, as a 
Sunday School Teacher, as a member of the Choir, as a Cub Scout Leader 
shaping young boys, and as Mission President. Her church family saw 
clearly what kind of woman she was. They named her Woman of the Year 
back in the 1990s, and they lifted her up in honor once again in 2024.
  Let her works speak of a true pillar of her community. In her 
neighborhood, the saying simply went that if you wanted something done, 
you called Mrs. Quiller. She was the one who got it done--and for that 
faithful service, she was presented the ``Giving Your Best Award.'' She 
also gave her time to the people of her city as a member of the Keep 
Columbus Beautiful Board. Her motto, plain and powerful, was to work 
every day at improving the quality of life--not only for herself, but 
for everyone around her.
  Mr. Speaker, let her works speak of her character. Mary Quiller was a 
woman of unshakable honesty. If she believed you needed to hear a hard 
truth, she loved you enough to tell it to you--whether you wanted to 
hear it or not. And yet, when she did good for others, and she did a 
world of good, she never once advertised it. She gave in quiet. She 
helped in secret. She believed, too, that you do not chase after 
material things simply to keep up with the people around you; you live 
within your values, and you spend on what truly matters. Hers was a 
life of substance, never a life of show.
  Mr. Speaker, the great Shirley Chisholm--the first Black woman ever 
to serve in this very House--once said that: ``Service is the rent we 
pay for the space that we occupy here on this Earth.'' By that measure, 
Mary ``Honey'' Quiller paid her rent in full, with interest. In the 
words of the old gospel hymn, ''She has paid her title clear.'' For 100 
years she served--her family, her church, and her community--and she 
asked for nothing in return.
  Mr. Speaker, Mary Lizzie Pickett Quiller asked that her works speak 
for her. And oh, how they speak. They speak in the brothers and sisters 
she mothered. They speak in the students she taught and the scouts she 
led. They speak in the church she served for six decades, in the 
community she made more beautiful, and in the countless souls she 
lifted without ever once asking for the credit. Her works are speaking 
still--and they will go on speaking long after every one of us is gone.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives 
to join my wife Vivian and me, along with the more than 765,000 people 
of Georgia's Second Congressional District in honoring the life and 
legacy of Mrs. Mary Lizzie Pickett Quiller. I extend my deepest and 
most heartfelt sympathy to her surviving daughter, Mary Quiller, her 
surviving sister, Annie Watkins; to her grandchildren; to her Mount 
Pilgrim Baptist Church family; and to the entire Columbus community 
that loved her so dearly and for so long. She was, in the truest sense 
of the word, a phenomenal woman, and we were blessed to share this 
Earth with her for 100 years.
  She was a caregiver, a scholar, a servant, and a saint whose good 
works will keep right on speaking for her, just as she asked. May she 
rest in peace and may the God she served so faithfully for a century 
welcome her home with the words she earned: ``Well done, thou good and 
faithful servant.''

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