Malakoff-Henderson County Now

Sis. Esther Mary Richardson celebrates 100th birthday

Sis. Esther Mary Richardson celebrated her 100th birthday earlier this month. (COURTESY PHOTO)

By Delanda S. Johnson
Special to HCT Now

On Saturday, Jan. 5, at the Wynnham Hotel in Dallas, Sis. Esther Mary Richardson (also known as Mother Richardson) celebrated her 100th birthday with family and friends.

Sis. Richardson was born in Malakoff, however now lives in Dallas and is a member of Gaines Chapel AME Church where Rev. W. K. McDonald is the pastor.

Approximately 80 to 100 people waited for Sis. Richardson to enter the ballroom. As she entered with a big smile on her face, Sis. Richardson greeted everyone.

The program started with Delanda S. Johnson (who is also a cousin) as Mistress of Ceremony calling everyone to order and expressed the love for her from the Smith side of Sis. Richardson’s family.

Family members traveled from Michigan to help Sis. Richardson celebrate her birthday.

Rev. McDonald opened that program with a heartfelt prayer; with Presiding Elder Rev. James Ford giving the scripture that well described Sis. Richardson.

Sis. Richardson’s nieces, Marilyn Marks and Renell Stafford, gave a stirring testimonial to why we were there and a beautiful song, “Blessed Assurance,” was sung in which Sis. Stafford stated that we all have a story to tell.

Sis. Richardson’s daughter-in-law, Sis. Patsy Richardson, read a moving poem; while cousin Delanda S. Johnson sang “Wind Beneath My Wings.” Kirk Franklin’s “Smile” got the crowd moving and later Sis. Richardson’s son Bro. J. D. Richardson and wife Patsy presented 50 red roses and 50 yellow roses to their mother. Family member, friends, and ministers came forth to speak good will, kind words, and loving messages to Sis. Richardson.

Sis. Richardson said to everyone that she was happy to see each person in attendance and thanked them for coming to help her celebrate.

“I thank God for allowing me to live this long and I will continue to bless His Holy Name. If I can help somebody, then my living will not be in vain,” she said.

This is the song that she sang without missing a note; what a wonderful SPIRIT.

The birthday celebration was topped off with a wonderful meal and great music.

Daily Brief: Monday, Jan. 21

Happy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day AND happy Inauguration Day.

The Henderson County Black Rodeo Association held a well-attended parade Saturday. See photos from the event here.

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DON’T FORGET: The Henderson County Black History Committee will be hosting its annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Candlelight Vigil tonight in Malakoff starting at 7 p.m.

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Congratulations to Bill Hunt of Texas Ragtime Inc. on being named the Athens Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year at the chamber banquet last Friday night.

You can find a list of the other award winners here, as well as our Facebook photo album with pictures from the event here.

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Not everything this weekend was happy. Sunday night, a candlelight service was held at Malakoff High School in honor of Jamiya Givens Williams and her daughter, Alahna Williams. who were killed in a car accident Sunday, Jan. 13.

We were there for the vigil.

Funeral services were set for today at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church on Mitcham Street in Malakoff under the direction of Huckabee/Tomlinson Funeral Home, Malakoff.

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Rich Flowers over at the Review has the first interview with new Athens City Council member Monte Montgomery. Mr. Montgomery took Mayor Jerry Don Vaught’s spot when Mr. Vaught became mayor.

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Average retail gasoline prices in Texas have fallen 2.0 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.14/g yesterday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 13,114 gas outlets in Texas. This compares with the national average that has increased 0.7 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.26/g, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.

Including the change in gas prices in Texas during the past week, prices yesterday were 9.7 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 10.9 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 1.9 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 8.9 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago.

Tool Elementary ‘Super Tigers’

Tool Elementary School recently announced its “Super Tiger” Awards for the Third six weeks.

Pictured above are: (top row from left) Emma Blaser, Nicole Carter, (middle row from left) Nicholas Hinkle, Cody rose, Aiden Cobb, (bottom row from left) Catherine Garoutte and Kylee Summerhill. (COURTESY PHOTO)

Pictured below are: (top row from left) Gabby Matthews, Lori Boyd, Samantha Hurst, Collin Kifer, Lauren Nall, (bottom row from left) Drew Castro, Robert Harvey, and Joseph King. (COURTESY PHOTO)

Daily Brief: Jan. 15

I’m still hoping to get some more information on The Ned Show coming to Bel Air this Friday … but here’s the poster while I’m waiting on a call back.

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The Malakoff community is still in pain today following the deaths of 16-year-old MHS sophomore Jamiya Givens Williams and her 11-month-old daughter, Alahna, in a car wreck Sunday.

According to a story by Jayson Larson in the Athens Review:

According to Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Kyle Bradford, a public information officer stationed in Garland, Williams and her daughter were in the backseat of a Chevrolet Cavalier headed east on Hwy. 175 when the accident happened. Reports state the Cavalier, driven by Williams’ mother, Cheryl Givens, 40, had a tire blow out as the car traveled down the road.

Givens slowed to around 10 to 15 miles per hour on the highway preparing to exit off a nearby ramp. Before she reached the ramp, the Cavalier was hit from behind by a Ford F-150 truck.

Services are pending.

A fund has been set up through FBC Malakoff to help the Givens family with funeral related expenses for Jamiya and Alahna, such as the Caskets and funeral directors. The cost of a funeral is normally in the thousands, meaning that some families will need as much help as they can get to fund a funeral service. As their family will want to give Jamiya and Alahna a great funeral, they have allowed a fund to be opened to help them cover the costs. If you’d like to donate, checks can be made payable to FBC Malakoff and designated for “Jamiya Givens Williams.” As they seem to be struggling with the cost of the funeral, it might suggest that Jamiya wasn’t paying for life insurance. Many people seem to disregard life insurance until they’re older as they feel that nothing will happen to them in their younger years. However, life can be unpredictable and events like this can occur. By paying life insurance, families can receive money for the funeral. For those who want to know more about the benefits of life insurance, it might be worth visiting PolicyMe.com or another website similar. That should help people learn more about the insurance option.

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Betty Waters at the Tyler Paper had a cool feature story about Henderson County Tax Collector Milburn Chaney’s sports autograph collection.

It is a fun read. rch

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The Texas House and Senate both filed budget bills yesterday, sparking instant debate.

This debate is also important to us, but this session Henderson County is a little closer to the middle of things. State Rep. Jim Pitts, who now represents a portion of Cedar Creek Lake, is the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

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LOOKING FOR A DEAL: Store closing sale … the following is from Jessica Crye of My Favorite Things:

Big sale in Malakoff (one block south of light in the right 202 S Terry St) Store closing!!!!
Kitchen items/tables/chairs, dishes, glassware, china, Christmas, kid items, home decor, furniture, outdoor items, construction materials, commercial kitchen equipment
TOO much to list, 5000 sq ft!!!!
Wed-Fri 9-2 Sat 9-4
Mon-Fri 9-2. Sat 9-4
Will meet evenings if interested in bulk buying
903-340-4921

Fund started to help Jamiya (Givens) Williams family

First Baptist Church of Malakoff has established a fund in the name of Jamiya (Givens) Williams to help the family pay for funeral expenses.

Jamiya, a sophomore at Malakoff High School, and her infant daughter Alahna were killed in a car crash Sunday near Crandall.

Checks can be sent to the church, made payable to the church, and designated for Jamiya.

First Baptist Church of Malakoff, 220 W. Mitcham St., Malakoff, TX 75148 … 903-489-0228.