South Carolina S 675: Ruthena Ford's Birthday

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 675 Text of Previous Version (May. 28, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 675

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

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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.

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This web page was last updated on May 28, 2025 at 12:20 PM