Hello from Literacy Connexus everyone! We hope that you are all doing well and staying healthy. Today we’re taking a little pause in our regularly scheduled content to remember Carl L. Meriwether Jr.
As many of you know, Lester Meriwether is the executive director of Literacy Connexus, and earlier this week his father transitioned from this life to the next. Today I’d like to share a little note from Lester about his father.
You may recall that my mother died last July. I’m in Louisiana now for my father’s funeral. At the age of 94 he took his last breath earlier this week. The obituary will not appear in the Baton Rouge paper until tomorrow. At this link, however, you can read an article that accompanied his picture in a local business magazine several years ago. He was quite a guy! What you won’t read in this article or in the obituary is relevant to a newsletter about literacy: My Dad dropped out of high school and was functionally illiterate. If you want to join the Navy now, you will need a high school diploma or the equivalent. At the height of WW2, that was not needed. Following three tours of duty in the Navy, my dad was able to enroll in junior college with just an honorable discharge from the Navy and the GI Bill. He completed a BS in sociology at Mississippi College and pursued graduate work at LSU. Along the way he met my mother, and here I am. Thanks, Dad, for demonstrating that limitations can be overcome. You will be missed!
You can see where Lester got his passion for literacy, and the drive to keep Literacy Connexus going. Lester’s father was a wonderful person, and he will be dearly missed by all. We are all praying for the Meriwether family during this time.
Help us remember Carl L. Meriwether Jr. by continuing to spread love and literacy to those in need. Until next time, blessings and happy teaching.