2008
Mother Viola Hill, Constance and Arthur O. Eve Sr.
Mother Viola Hill's Birthday
Her and the Children2(A)Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;
(J)making the most of the opportunity.
6(K)Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with (L)salt, so that you will know how you should (M)respond to each person.
Ephesians 4:29Let no (A)unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for (B)edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. (New American Standard Bible)
Every once in a while or in some cases a lifetime we meet individuals like Viola Hill who is the epitome of Grace. Grace is the unmerited, undeserved, undeniable gift of God. Viola Hill is a gift of Grace, from God. For the years I have observed Mother Viola Hill she has been the kindest and most affirming women I have met. She has been a stalwart of the Buffalo, NY community; spreading her love and joy of life to all her come before her.
As a queen before her subjects, her presence and gifts of grace have cheered many a despondent soul. For decades she worked for and with the Deputy Speaker of the House, NY State Legislature Arthur O. Eve. The office and the atmosphere of grace was there for those in need. She was the in the office helping to meet the needs of a community ravaged by violence and poverty. In the midst of the violence, poverty and despair, Viola Hill served untiringly and with inexhaustible grace. She was Art Eve’s right arm among others but if there was one whose lips dripped with love, it was Viola Hill’s.
She would tell me the stories of how she babysat my mother Mary Louise Byrd-Meadows and the stories of old Howard Street and Lincoln Memorial. On her birthday we wish her love, extracting from her grace and allowing ourselves to experience the undeniable, unmerited, undeserved gift of Mother Viola Hill.