[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 20]
[House]
[Pages 28667-28668]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          THE MAN CALLED BILLY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, it is with a sad heart that I 
address the House of Representatives this evening.
  My cousin, the Reverend Willie ``Billy'' Boulware, was born on August 
4, 1938, to the late Roscoe Meeks and Thomasina Boulware. He passed 
just yesterday.
  Billy always knew he was loved. His growing years were strengthened 
by close knit families and communities. And so when it came time for 
him to go to high school, a place where many come into themselves, 
Billy was already poised to lead.
  He attended Emmett Scott High School where he briefly played 
football, but found a zone of his own when he joined the school band. 
It was there that he gained an increased level of education and friends 
worth fighting for.
  Reverend Boulware was a son of the South, and Billy knew of the 
inequities that existed but refused to allow the anger and 
disappointment that overtook some to become the fabric of his being. 
Instead, he clung to the lessons learned at home, the wonder of 
educating himself, the promise he saw in his friends, the people living 
lives of purpose, and of a love of life's journeys.
  Billy attended Friendship Junior College and later Benedict College, 
where he received his bachelor of arts degree, then Winthrop College, 
where he got his master's. Later he would gain a master of divinity and 
doctorate of divinity from Mid-Atlantic Seminary.
  A desire to learn and the warmth and smile that greeted everyone he 
met were Billy's hallmarks and trademarks. When you met Billy Boulware, 
you knew instantly there was nothing to fear. His welcoming spirit 
enveloped a room. Perhaps that's why he became a director of a Head 
Start program, an initiative that seeks to provide children good 
beginnings, or why he was chosen to direct an alternative high school 
in Rock Hill, a place where the young are sent in the hopes that they 
might be reshaped, redirected, and shown their promise.
  And ever the student, my cousin Billy was also an assistant principal 
at Castle Heights Middle School, demonstrating by example of his own 
life that it's not necessarily the position you are in, but the 
character that lives inside the person holding whatever position.
  Later Rev. Boulware held positions of commissioner of mental health, 
director of the York County Planning Commission, head of the Board of 
Elections for York County, hearing officer for the Rock Hill Hearing 
District, and a York County judge. Billy knew he couldn't guarantee 
things, but he knew he could play a part in the administration of 
justice. Time and again Billy chose to serve the people of his 
community. And all the while he maintained his interest in education 
sitting as a member of the board for Morris College.
  There was no question that Billy knew love both at home and through 
the Holy Spirit. So it was really a continuation of his life's journey 
when he assumed the pastoral duties at Mount Olive Baptist Church. His 
love of God and his desire to live a committed life, buttressed by the 
love of his wife, Barbara, his love and partner for 45 years, made it 
possible for him to pastor for those 35 years.
  Even as Billy Boulware made himself available to his church family, 
he chaired the Board of Trustees of Friendship College. He supported 
his wife's dreams and encouraged his son, Wendell, through his medical 
degree. He told his little girl, Dietra, that she was born to be more 
as he encouraged her dream of working in the financial services 
industry. And when his daily guidance was no longer required, he placed 
himself wherever his children asked that he be.
  Some might have viewed Billy as being saddled with much too much; but 
as I remember his ever-present smile, the enthusiasm you could hear in 
his voice, and the laughter that came from him when he spoke of a trip 
just taken with Barbara to visit his grandchildren or hearing him speak 
passionately of why grandparents matter in children's lives, I know 
Billy Boulware was ``saddled'' with nothing but the heart of love.
  Billy was a man among men. He was a giant to his Barbara, Wendell, 
and Dietra, and to the rest of his family as well. He cared for his 
uncles, his aunts, his cousins, and would do anything he could to 
ensure all thrived. Billy's presence made you smile, and his

[[Page 28668]]

laughter made you warm. His sure-footedness made you steadier, and the 
pride he expressed in me called me to work deliberately and with 
greater purpose.
  This world has lost a great somebody in the being that was Billy 
Boulware. But there is no question in my mind that on October 29, 2007, 
the day Billy went home to his Father, there was great fanfare. He was 
greeted with the words, ``Well done my good and faithful servant, well 
done!''
  The greatest part of Billy Boulware still lives in all the persons 
whose lives he changed, and all the lives they changed, and the greater 
sense of humanity that exists because Billy lived. Until we meet again, 
let this Congressional Record stand as testimony that Billy Boulware 
was a great and faithful servant of God. Billy didn't just up space, he 
made a way for some, and broadened the horizon for many many more!!!!

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