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Tomorrow we commemorate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and I am reminded of the journey of two women.
The first is Dolores Crittendon who was wellknown in the San Marcos community. A mother of five, she worked several jobs to ensure that she could provide the best for her children, and with the support of her parents, she was able to do just that. A wonderful mother, she was devastated when she lost the two youngest in a flood in 1970 – they were only three and six years old. Crittendon pushed through the pain by devoting her life to the service of others. She left jobs in food service and eventually became a social worker, helping individuals who were going through difficult times. She was excellent in this capacity and won various awards and accolades throughout her career with the Texas Department of Human Services and the Salvation Army. Crittendon was master of friendships and community relations, and her best friend was Belle Townsend, longtime director of Head Start.
The second woman in the journey is Cheryl McWilliams, one of Crittendon’s five children. McWilliams was raised in San Marcos, attended San Marcos public schools and Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University). She too has devoted her life to the service of others; not through social work but through education. She earned a degree in elementary education with a minor in music. Her working career started with a brief stint in the same office as her mother and then McWilliams became a teacher for 10 years – nine of those years teaching kindergarten in Austin, before teaching third grade at Bowie Elementary here in San Marcos.
During this time, McWilliams decided to return to Southwest Texas State to pursue a master’s in business in pursuit of a career change. Her master’s degree afforded her the opportunity to move into program management at her own university. She started as an advisor for the TRIO Rural Talent Search program helping San Marcos CISD students pursue higher education. She loved the work. For 20 of the 23 years on staff, McWilliams was a program director at Texas State; serving first as director of Upward Bound and Rural Talent Search and later becoming the director of all Student Support Services.
Before I share the rest of McWilliams’ journey, we must learn about her grandfather, James Smith, a member of Jackson Chapel – he and his brother laid the corner stone and built Jackson Chapel’s building. It’s not a coincidence that both Crittendon and McWilliams devoted their life to service because of him. He lived a life of service to others as a civil rights activist. Through his involvement with the NAACP, the process to open the doors of San Marcos’ public schools and of Southwest Texas State University to African-American students began. In fact, James Smith’s daughter, Dolores Crittendon, was one of the first African-American students to attend and graduate from an integrated San Marcos High School in 1956. Furthermore, because of his efforts, his granddaughters, Cheryl McWilliams and Rita Crittendon Dobbins, as well as countless other African-American students, were able to attend Southwest Texas State University to pursue postsecondary degrees.
James Smith and his twin brother, George, co-founded a gospel music group in the 1940s known as the Imperial Harmonizers. For over 30 years, the group, including Smith – known for his beautiful tenor voice – sang at events throughout the local area but were best known for their weekly gospel broadcast at KCNY. So, it is not a coincidence that McWilliams is following in her grandfather’s musical footsteps.
The passion of McWilliams' life has always been music. Over the years, she has been a church musician at several churches (currently at St. Peter’s UMC in Austin) wedding singer and vocal performer. Her desire is to use her gift of song to inspire others just as her grandfather did.
Not surprising, as staunch supporter of all her children, whenever possible Crittendon was there when McWilliams performed. Until her passing in 2018, wherever McWilliams was serving as church musician was where her other attended church services. As a gospel recording artist of two albums, McWilliams plans to devote more of her time pursuing her musical dreams, now that she has retired from Texas State, and follows the Lord with her life verse:
"I can do everything through him who gives me strength."
Phillippians 4:13
