This morning’s announcement from Wilson’s Sallie B. Howard School for the Arts and Education:
Our beloved, Sallie Baldwin Townsend Howard, passed away at 2:50am this morning, September 25, 2018. She was 102 years old and wanted everyone to know that “she was ready”. We miss her already but her life and her legacy remains with us, enshrined in the work we do for children for generations to come. Concerning her passing from this earth, this is what she had to say…
“When I lay me down to die
Have bade farewell this beauteous world
Of valleys green and oceans swirl
Of fragrant blossoms and birds that sing
Of happy voices with childlike ring
Of ecstasy from lovers kiss
Though evermore I’m done with this
And my journey through eternity
To the dawn of nothing be…
I shall begin it cheerfully
If little children let shed a tear
To express the love they bear
And weep my passing from this earth
Because til death, yea from birth
For truth and goodness I have striven
Because of kindness I have given
If they should weep to have me stay
Because I’ve lighted up their way
Then happy upon my couch I’ll lie
When I lay me down to die.”
Sallie B. Howard, 1948
Hi Lisa,Very considerate and thoughtful. Thanks greatly. Maurice Coble
Thank you. Mrs. Howard returned to Wilson after I left, and I did not have the honor of meeting her, but I know the impact of her good work in the community I still love.
A beautiful poem. thanks for sharing.
http://www.wilsontimes.com/stories/iconic-educator-sallie-b-howard-dies-at-102,143608
An icon indeed. I’ve learned, in the past few years, that Mrs. Howards birth father Marcellus Simms, was one of my grandmother’s older brother’s.
Yes, I learned that when researching her life for an earlier post. The Simms family has many reasons to be proud of its members!