A senate RESOLUTION

 

TO CONGRATULATE Ruthena Morant Barron Ford ON THE OCCASION OF HER ninety-ninth BIRTHDAY AND TO WISH HER A JOYOUS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION AND MUCH HAPPINESS IN THE years AHEAD.

 

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina Senate are pleased to learn that Ruthena Morant Barron Ford will celebrate this important milestone on June 21, 2025; and

 

Whereas, a descendant of rice growers in West Africa, Mrs. Ford was born on June 21, 1935, to parents Arthur and Mary (Collins) Morant. She is the first of seven children and a granddaughter of freed people of color, Joseph and Rose (Greggs) Morant and Enoch and Susan (Blackwell) Collins. She graduated from Howard High School in 1953 during a time of segregation and entered Benedict College, joining Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and becoming a founding member and, later, the secretary of the Georgetown Mu Phi Omega Chapter. She graduated in 1957 with her teaching degree; and

 

Whereas, Mrs. Ford began her thirty-two-year career in teaching with her first position at J.D. Beck Elementary School. She also taught at Deep Creek Elementary School and then Plantersville Elementary, where she would stay for the rest of her career, educating hundreds of students in their earliest school years in math, social studies, and the sciences; and

 

Whereas, students still remember her fondly for the important role she played in making sure they started life with a quality education. With few school-supplied resources, Mrs. Ford often spent her own money on supplies and science equipment. In addition to the joy of seeing "her" children growing in their understanding of the world with each lesson, she took special pride in helping them discover their own history by researching prominent African Americans, collectively creating the "Black ABC's" of individuals who inspired her students to be the best they could be; and

 

Whereas, devout Christians, Mrs. Ford's family members were founding members of the Mount Carmel Baptist Church in the 1880s. In the 1950s, they were part of the community that established the Greater Mount Carmel Baptist Church, now the Mount Carmel United Missionary Baptist Church, on land given by Mrs. Ford's grandfather, Joe Morant. The church has been a steadfast and vital contributor to the lifeblood of the Plantersville community, and Mrs. Ford has remained an active member for more than seventy years, helping to raise funds for the new church building and community hall, singing in the senior choir, and serving on the missionary board; and

 

Whereas, Mrs. Ford was married to Arthur Barron, a quartermaster in the United States Airforce, from 1934 until 1978. Together they had two sons, Philip and Gregory. After Arthur passed away from cancer, she married Thomas Ford, a former Triple Nickel paratrooper of the 82nd Airborne, 3rd Battalion, 505 Airborne Infantry Regiment, and one of the first Black officers of the Georgetown Police department. They spent twenty-two years together before he passed away; and

 

Whereas, in her free time, Mrs. Ford enjoys reading, keeping active, and spending time with her beloved sisters, Mary, Eva, and Dot; her brothers, Benny and Charles; and her cousins, nieces, nephews, and daughter-in-law; and

 

Whereas, the South Carolina Senate takes great pleasure in honoring this daughter of South Carolina at the celebration of her ninety-ninth birthday and is pleased to join with her family and friends in congratulating her.  Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the Senate:

 

That the members of the South Carolina Senate, by this resolution, congratulate Ruthena Morant Barron Ford on the occasion of her ninety-ninth birthday and wish her a joyous birthday celebration and much happiness in the years ahead.

 

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Ruthena Morant Barron Ford.

----XX----