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TO CONGRATULATE HOYT GRAHAM OF BEAUFORT ON THE OCCASION OF HIS NINETIETH BIRTHDAY AND TO WISH HIM A JOYOUS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION AND MUCH HAPPINESS IN THE DAYS AHEAD.
Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is delighted to learn that Hoyt Graham of Beaufort will celebrate his ninetieth birthday on June 9, 2014; and
Whereas, born in Spartanburg on June 9, 1924, the youngest of Hoyt and Etta Graham's three children, the young Hoyt came into this world when the twentieth century was still in its youth, and he has been witness to nearly all the incredible changes and developments that have come to this nation from that time into the second decade of the twenty-first century; and
Whereas, Hoyt grew up with two sisters, Lottie Graham Miller and Dorothy Graham McAlister, and moved with his family to Greenville at the age of eight, in time attending West Gantt High School; and
Whereas, answering the call of his country, he served in the Navy during World War II from 1942 to 1945. He worked as a food broker and was vice president of a well-known food-brokerage company in Greenville; and
Whereas, Hoyt had grown up as a Baptist, but he joined the Methodist Church when he married the love of his life, Imogene, in Greenville on June 15, 1944. God blessed them with two children, Sandra Somerall (Rick) and Tim Graham (Susan), as well as four grandchildren and three great-grandsons; and
Whereas, in 1957, he went into the ministry, at the same time enrolling at Furman University. In that extraordinarily busy period of his life, he served two churches, had a wife and two children, was a full-time college student, and graduated at the age of thirty-seven in the Furman University Class of 1961, the first class to graduate from Furman's current campus; and
Whereas, over the course of his ministry, Hoyt served Poe/Jackson Grove United Methodist Church (UMC), Rehoboth UMC, O'Neal Street UMC, Tabernacle UMC, St. Paul UMC, Bel Air UMC, Bramlett UMC, and Bethel Park UMC. After having served churches in South Carolina for thirty years, he retired in the late 1980s. He and Imogene resided in Greenwood fourteen years, after which they moved in 2001 to Beaufort, where they attend Carteret Street UMC; and
Whereas, a man of many interests, Hoyt has enjoyed collecting and refinishing antiques, and he currently relishes creating beautiful works of art (he is a self-taught artist), traveling in an RV, reading, and fishing; and
Whereas, the House of Representatives is pleased to honor Hoyt Graham at the celebration of his ninetieth birthday and joins with his family and friends in congratulating him on reaching this extraordinary milestone. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, congratulate Hoyt Graham of Beaufort on the occasion of his ninetieth birthday and wish him a joyous birthday celebration and much happiness in the days ahead.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be provided to Hoyt Graham.
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