South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 551
Indicates Matter StrickenIndicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
A concurrent RESOLUTION TO CONGRATULATE ANNIE LOIS NEELY STEWART OF GREENVILLE COUNTY ON THE OCCASION OF HER ONE HUNDREDTH BIRTHDAY AND TO WISH HER A JOYOUS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION AND MANY YEARS OF CONTINUED HEALTH AND HAPPINESS. Whereas, the members of the South Carolina General Assembly are delighted to learn that Annie Lois Neely Stewart of Greenville County will celebrate her one hundredth birthday on May 11, 2025; and Whereas, born on May 11, 1925, in the first quarter of the twentieth century, she has witnessed the many remarkable social changes, technological advancements, and international developments that have spanned the globe from that time into the first quarter of the twenty-first century; and Whereas, Annie Lois Stewart was the first daughter and second child of Thomas "TR" and Beatrice Neely of Laurens County. They were sharecroppers on the McGee farm outside of Fountain Inn; and Whereas, without a license or formal training, she taught a sort of mathematics through her example, not in a school classroom but in her community, when she added the values of love and hard work to her life; subtracted a can't do attitude from her mind; multiplied in her home, her church, and her community, stories of worshipping God around a potbellied stove and of rejoicing at family events and assisting in preparing food for family celebrations; and divided a rich tapestry of memories among her children; and Whereas, during sharecropping days, work done by women and children was hard and difficult. They walked through harvested fields, picking up grain and cotton missed by the men. Women hulled the grain for family use and used the straw as livestock bedding. As a youth, Mrs. Stewart desired to experience a better life than her parents had and to do what was necessary to achieve a better life. To get away from that difficult and hard life, she moved to Miami, Florida; and Whereas, together with her husband, the late Preston Stewart, she reared three fine children: Bessie Lee Neely Humbert and John L. Neely, both of Greenville, and the late Lydia Beatrice Neely-Littlejohn; and Whereas, after several years in Florida, Mrs. Stewart returned home, and months later, she and her three children moved from Fountain Inn to Greenville and moved her church membership from Mount Zion Baptist Church in Fountain Inn to Nicholtown Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville. She was employed in Greenville as a housekeeper for the Dr. Iris Bronell's family until she retired; and Whereas, as one of our longest-living former members of the Mount Zion Baptist Church family, Mrs. Stewart has lived the refrain of the hymn referred to as the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing": "God of our weary years,/God of our silent tears,/Thou who hast brought us thus far on our way,/Thou who hast by Thy might,/ Led us into the light,/Keep us forever in the path, we pray"; and Whereas, the members of the South Carolina General Assembly are pleased to honor this daughter of South Carolina at the celebration of her one hundredth birthday and join with her family and friends in congratulating her on reaching this extraordinary milestone. Now, therefore, Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring: That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, congratulate Annie Lois Neely Stewart of Greenville County on the occasion of her one hundredth birthday and wish her a joyous birthday celebration and many years of continued health and happiness. Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Annie Lois Neely Stewart. ----XX---
A concurrent RESOLUTION
TO CONGRATULATE ANNIE LOIS NEELY STEWART OF GREENVILLE COUNTY ON THE OCCASION OF HER ONE HUNDREDTH BIRTHDAY AND TO WISH HER A JOYOUS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION AND MANY YEARS OF CONTINUED HEALTH AND HAPPINESS.
Whereas, the members of the South Carolina General Assembly are delighted to learn that Annie Lois Neely Stewart of Greenville County will celebrate her one hundredth birthday on May 11, 2025; and
Whereas, born on May 11, 1925, in the first quarter of the twentieth century, she has witnessed the many remarkable social changes, technological advancements, and international developments that have spanned the globe from that time into the first quarter of the twenty-first century; and
Whereas, Annie Lois Stewart was the first daughter and second child of Thomas "TR" and Beatrice Neely of Laurens County. They were sharecroppers on the McGee farm outside of Fountain Inn; and
Whereas, without a license or formal training, she taught a sort of mathematics through her example, not in a school classroom but in her community, when she added the values of love and hard work to her life; subtracted a can't do attitude from her mind; multiplied in her home, her church, and her community, stories of worshipping God around a potbellied stove and of rejoicing at family events and assisting in preparing food for family celebrations; and divided a rich tapestry of memories among her children; and
Whereas, during sharecropping days, work done by women and children was hard and difficult. They walked through harvested fields, picking up grain and cotton missed by the men. Women hulled the grain for family use and used the straw as livestock bedding. As a youth, Mrs. Stewart desired to experience a better life than her parents had and to do what was necessary to achieve a better life. To get away from that difficult and hard life, she moved to Miami, Florida; and
Whereas, together with her husband, the late Preston Stewart, she reared three fine children: Bessie Lee Neely Humbert and John L. Neely, both of Greenville, and the late Lydia Beatrice Neely-Littlejohn; and
Whereas, after several years in Florida, Mrs. Stewart returned home, and months later, she and her three children moved from Fountain Inn to Greenville and moved her church membership from Mount Zion Baptist Church in Fountain Inn to Nicholtown Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville. She was employed in Greenville as a housekeeper for the Dr. Iris Bronell's family until she retired; and
Whereas, as one of our longest-living former members of the Mount Zion Baptist Church family, Mrs. Stewart has lived the refrain of the hymn referred to as the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing": "God of our weary years,/God of our silent tears,/Thou who hast brought us thus far on our way,/Thou who hast by Thy might,/ Led us into the light,/Keep us forever in the path, we pray"; and
Whereas, the members of the South Carolina General Assembly are pleased to honor this daughter of South Carolina at the celebration of her one hundredth birthday and join with her family and friends in congratulating her on reaching this extraordinary milestone. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:
That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, congratulate Annie Lois Neely Stewart of Greenville County on the occasion of her one hundredth birthday and wish her a joyous birthday celebration and many years of continued health and happiness.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Annie Lois Neely Stewart.
----XX---
This web page was last updated on April 15, 2025 at 12:35 PM