H.R. No. 1560
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Two remarkable sisters, Wilhelm Williams Moye of
Cedar Lake and Tena Williams Simien of Sweeny, have earned great
distinction through their combined eight decades as teachers in
Matagorda and Brazoria Counties; and
WHEREAS, Recognized as two of the oldest living former
teachers in the nation, Mrs. Moye and Mrs. Simien are the last
surviving members of a prominent family of educators, and they were
on the front lines of desegregation in the 1960s; their father, Joel
Williams Sr., was a graduate of the Tuskegee Institute, and he
served for nearly 50 years as principal, teacher, and bus driver for
the Van Vleck Independent School District; their siblings, the late
Joel Williams Jr., Girtha Woodard, Augustus Williams Sr., and Fay
Woodard, were all teachers as well; and
WHEREAS, Born in 1922, Wilhelm Moye is a graduate of Prairie
View A&M University, and she began her career in the 1940s at
Sargent Colored School; she went on to teach typing, shorthand,
bookkeeping, and business math at O. H. Herman High School in the
Van Vleck ISD, and in 1965, she became the first African American
teacher at Van Vleck High School; she retired in the late 1980s; and
WHEREAS, Tena Simien, who was born in 1924, graduated from
Jarvis Christian College, and she began her career at Jerusalem
Community School in the 1940s; she later taught English at George
Washington Carver High School, where she was a supervisor, program
director, and sponsor of the drama club; in 1966, she was one of the
first six black teachers to be hired at Sweeny Junior High School in
the Sweeny ISD; she taught junior high school English until her
retirement in 1984; and
WHEREAS, Known affectionately as the Queen BEES (for Business
and English Education Sisters), Mrs. Moye and Mrs. Simien count
many community leaders among their former students, including a
school superintendent and a mayor, as well as school board members,
coaches, professional football players, city managers, city
council members, and bank executives; and
WHEREAS, Leaders in their profession, Wilhelm Moye and Tena
Simien have made a positive difference in the lives of generations
of area Texans, and they have earned the admiration and affection of
all who are privileged to know them; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas
Legislature hereby commend Wilhelm Williams Moye and Tena Williams
Simien for their outstanding careers in education and extend to
them sincere best wishes for continued happiness; and, be it
further
RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared
for Mrs. Moye and Mrs. Simien as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives.
Bonnen of Brazoria
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 1560 was adopted by the House on May
17, 2019, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House