FAITH INSPIRES WOMEN TO LEARN TO READ
By Olivia Ingle olivia@newstribune.com
Words of Psalms 23 drifted through a living room on Knipp Drive. Ninety-three-year-old Luvenia Washington sat on a blue couch, a Bible open on her lap. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want,” Washington read aloud. When she finished, Marcia Ramatowski, sitting on a couch across the room, wiped tears from her eyes.
“Thank you for giving me back a little bit of my momma today,” Ramatowski said to Washington. Washington learned to read in her 80s for the sole purpose of reading The Bible. She was a student at the Adult Basic Literacy Education Learning Center, ABLE, which Ramatowski’s mother, Amie Morrow, founded in 1985.
Morrow passed away in June 2010, but her legacy lives on through ABLE. “This is the epitome of what my mom wanted,” Ramatowski said. “It’s a double success for her to be reading the Bible.” ABLE is a partner agency of The United Way of Central Missouri. The agency provides instruction to increase adults’ literacy skills.
“Students may have been passed over in school or are even learning-disabled,” ABLE Director Felicia Poettgen said. “As adults, they really want to be there (learning to read).”
Growing up, Washington didn’t have many opportunities to attend school. Books were a luxury and not readily available to her, even the Bible.
She was born Feb. 25, 1919, in Dixie, Mo. She had a brother and two sisters, and her family lived on a farm and school was a 4-mile walk or wagon ride. “School was part time,” Washington said. “I went to about the sixth grade, but I was 20 years old.” She said she would sometimes attend school once a week or even less often.
Church was also a trek. “We walked through fields and farms, even barbed wire fences,” she said. “We didn’t make it there every week.” Washington’s daughter, Vivian Cayce, was born in 1939, shortly after Washington finished school. The family lived in Mexico for a while before moving to Jefferson City in 1940.
Washington married Fay Holt, Vivian’s father, in the early 1940s. They divorced in 1950. Throughout her life, Washington held different jobs. She worked at a hotel, babysat and worked in Lincoln University’s cafeteria. Not knowing how to read was never an issue in her jobs, she said. It became troublesome when she tried to teach Sunday school. “I couldn’t teach because I couldn’t read well myself,” Washington said. “Kids wouldn’t pay attention to me and would look out the window.” She also didn’t like not being able to read at Bible study at Second Baptist Church in Jefferson City.
“All the grown people could read,” Washington said. “That made me feel so bad.” The church deacon said he could help and got Washington involved with ABLE. Several ABLE tutors and nearly 10 years later, Washington is confident in her reading ability. Although Cayce said her mother doesn’t read anything other than religious things, the 93-year-old doesn’t mind. Her favorite Bible verses are the proverbs, Psalms 23.
“I felt a lot better after I learned how to read,” Washington said. “I love reading the different chapters.”
Lavinia passed away in March of 2017 - She was 98 years old.
Words of Psalms 23 drifted through a living room on Knipp Drive. Ninety-three-year-old Luvenia Washington sat on a blue couch, a Bible open on her lap. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want,” Washington read aloud. When she finished, Marcia Ramatowski, sitting on a couch across the room, wiped tears from her eyes.
“Thank you for giving me back a little bit of my momma today,” Ramatowski said to Washington. Washington learned to read in her 80s for the sole purpose of reading The Bible. She was a student at the Adult Basic Literacy Education Learning Center, ABLE, which Ramatowski’s mother, Amie Morrow, founded in 1985.
Morrow passed away in June 2010, but her legacy lives on through ABLE. “This is the epitome of what my mom wanted,” Ramatowski said. “It’s a double success for her to be reading the Bible.” ABLE is a partner agency of The United Way of Central Missouri. The agency provides instruction to increase adults’ literacy skills.
“Students may have been passed over in school or are even learning-disabled,” ABLE Director Felicia Poettgen said. “As adults, they really want to be there (learning to read).”
Growing up, Washington didn’t have many opportunities to attend school. Books were a luxury and not readily available to her, even the Bible.
She was born Feb. 25, 1919, in Dixie, Mo. She had a brother and two sisters, and her family lived on a farm and school was a 4-mile walk or wagon ride. “School was part time,” Washington said. “I went to about the sixth grade, but I was 20 years old.” She said she would sometimes attend school once a week or even less often.
Church was also a trek. “We walked through fields and farms, even barbed wire fences,” she said. “We didn’t make it there every week.” Washington’s daughter, Vivian Cayce, was born in 1939, shortly after Washington finished school. The family lived in Mexico for a while before moving to Jefferson City in 1940.
Washington married Fay Holt, Vivian’s father, in the early 1940s. They divorced in 1950. Throughout her life, Washington held different jobs. She worked at a hotel, babysat and worked in Lincoln University’s cafeteria. Not knowing how to read was never an issue in her jobs, she said. It became troublesome when she tried to teach Sunday school. “I couldn’t teach because I couldn’t read well myself,” Washington said. “Kids wouldn’t pay attention to me and would look out the window.” She also didn’t like not being able to read at Bible study at Second Baptist Church in Jefferson City.
“All the grown people could read,” Washington said. “That made me feel so bad.” The church deacon said he could help and got Washington involved with ABLE. Several ABLE tutors and nearly 10 years later, Washington is confident in her reading ability. Although Cayce said her mother doesn’t read anything other than religious things, the 93-year-old doesn’t mind. Her favorite Bible verses are the proverbs, Psalms 23.
“I felt a lot better after I learned how to read,” Washington said. “I love reading the different chapters.”
Lavinia passed away in March of 2017 - She was 98 years old.