[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3355]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO MADAME LILEASE HALL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 4, 2011

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
trailblazing educator and remarkable woman whose life is being 
celebrated in Columbia, South Carolina on March 15th. Madame Lilease 
Hall passed away in August 2010, but she is being remembered by 
Columbia High School and Richland School District One for her many 
years of service, and I add my voice to those honoring her remarkable 
life.
  Lilease Hall was born to Jessie James and Belle Magnolia Rogers in 
Conway, South Carolina in 1923. Her gentle spirit endeared her to all 
of those that knew her, and she was affectionately known as ``Sister'' 
or ``Lily,'' and in the case of her French students, ``Madame Hall.''
  Madame Hall received a Bachelor of Arts, with concentrations in 
French and English, from South Carolina State University and later a 
Master of Education degree from the University of South Carolina. She 
received additional education from Montana State University in 
Missoula, Montana; Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio; The 
Sorbornne University in Paris, France; Clemson University in Clemson, 
South Carolina and The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina.
  For 58 years, Madame Hall pursued her passion for teaching and French 
as an educator. She taught French at Columbia High School, and taught 
French and English at Booker T. Washington High School, Alabama A&M 
University, S.C. State College, Council Training School in Huntsville, 
Alabama, and Whittemore High School. She also participated in summer 
programs at Benedict College and the University of South Carolina. She 
continued to work in Richland School District One until 2008, when she 
was 85 years old. During her 54 years with the district, she taught 
many generations of students and touched countless lives.
  Madame Hall's many accomplishments include being selected as Teacher 
of the Year at Columbia High School several times over the years. She 
also was nominated by her students to appear on the television program, 
Oprah.
  In February 2010, Madame Hall published a book with her daughter 
entitled Running Through the Scary Woods. The book was inspired by 
real-life events in which a young girl in the 1920s literally had to 
run through the scary woods to achieve her goals. The book teaches life 
lessons of overcoming obstacles with courage and perseverance. Copies 
of the book have been donated to Mothering Across Continents (MAC) 
literacy and education efforts in Africa. The book is currently being 
used in a program to help teachers learn and instruct in English at a 
remote school in northern Rwanda.
  Madame Hall was a faithful member of the Progressive Church of Our 
Lord Jesus Christ in Columbia, South Carolina. She was a member of 
numerous social organizations and a life member of Alpha Kappa Alpha 
Sorority.
  She married her college sweetheart, Benjamin Louis Hall, Jr., who 
passed away in 2007. The two celebrated 60 years of marriage on 
November 29, 2006, and their union was blessed with six children. The 
Halls were the proud grandparents of nine grandchildren and the great-
grandparents of one great-grandson.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask our colleagues to join me in honoring the 
tremendous dedication of this trailblazing educator. Madame Hall 
committed her life to the education of students and expanding their 
minds beyond the limited world around them. She ignited in her students 
a passion for learning and experiencing life beyond their hometowns. 
Madame Hall serves as an inspiration to all those who knew her to live 
their best life and she certainly demonstrated that with her own. She 
is certainly missed, but not forgotten.

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