May 23, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 87 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages H4152-H4153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF GERALDINE ``JERRY'' EMMETT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Phillips). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 3, 2019, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stanton) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mr. STANTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arizona?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. STANTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my fellow colleagues from 
Arizona to celebrate the life of a phenomenal woman. Geraldine Emmett, 
``Jerry'' to most of us, was 104 years old when she passed away on 
April 30, 2019.
  Many Americans got the chance to see Jerry sparkle in 2016 at the 
Democratic National Convention, where she served as an honorary 
delegate and, along with Congressman Gallego, proudly announced our 
State's votes for Hillary Rodham Clinton.
  But her devotion to the democratic process started long before that. 
Part of what captured the attention of the rest of the country during 
the national convention is that Jerry symbolized just how far women in 
America had come. She was born before the 19th Amendment granted women 
the right to vote. She lived through the civil rights movement, the 
women's liberation movement, and the women's suffrage movement.
  She brought a sign to the convention that read ``Centenarian for 
Hillary,'' a reminder that you can be politically active at any age.
  Jerry represented the best of our State. She graduated from Northern 
Arizona University, and in her first job she instructed children with 
disabilities and chronic illness on the Navajo Reservation.
  She served as a public schoolteacher in Arizona for 43 years and 
actively promoted civic engagement and participation. She was a pillar 
in Democratic politics in Arizona for decades.
  Each of us here today had a chance to witness Jerry's fierce passion 
up close. We wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate her life and 
contributions to our community.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. O'Halleran).

  Mr. O'HALLERAN. Mr. Speaker, today, I join my colleagues to remember 
and honor a true patriot and someone I was honored to know and call a 
dear friend, Jerry Emmett.
  Jerry lived a long, full life beyond reproach. She was dedicated to 
serving Arizona. She was a teacher for more than four decades. She was 
a passionate advocate for the rights of women and underrepresented 
groups. I mourned with our State when she passed away last month at the 
age of 104.
  Jerry inspired people from every corner of Arizona and across the 
Nation, and that will be her lasting legacy.
  I am in awe of what she has seen and what she has accomplished in her 
lifetime. She witnessed history unfold, from the suffrage movement to 
the nomination of the first female President candidate.
  At the national convention, the world saw Jerry as we all in Arizona 
knew her, full of life and zeal, and she proudly represented Arizona 
for such a historic moment.
  I will never forget the wisdom she shared with me over the years. She 
was truly an inspiration to all of us, and I never left her side 
without learning something important.
  We come together today to mourn her passing but also to remember all 
she has done for our State. My prayers are with her family and with all 
the admirers and students she shaped and inspired over the years.
  I will leave you all with a lesson she shared with her son Jim: No 
matter what is going on at the time, as long as you keep hope and you 
keep believing things will change and you are doing your best to help 
change, it will change.
  Mr. STANTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Arizona 
(Mrs. Kirkpatrick).
  Mrs. KIRKPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, no woman or person I have ever known 
has appreciated the right to vote quite like Jerry Emmett.
  She was born at a time when being a woman meant being silenced. She 
was raised at a time when women had to fight to be heard and worked 10 
times as hard to be taken seriously. She aged to see women become 
prominent and powerful, and she passed away the same year that we had 
the most women elected to Congress.
  I remember well the first time I met Jerry Emmett. She was very close 
friends with the late Carolyn Warner, our former superintendent of 
schools. Jerry was always the teacher. I was a newly elected State 
legislator at a political event, and Jerry and Carolyn were there.
  Carolyn Warner said: Do you have a card?
  I said: Oh, I don't have them with me right now.
  Jerry Emmett said: Always keep your cards in your pocket.
  So, Jerry, this is for you.
  Mr. STANTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. 
Gallego).
  Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I know I speak for my colleagues when I say 
that we all loved Jerry. How could you not love Jerry?
  Her spirit and unwavering optimism and her love for our State and our 
party made her the quintessential Arizonan. She lived to 104 years old, 
and she really lived. She lived in a way that set an example for all of 
us. She made every day count.
  Her life spanned some of the momentous times in our Nation's history: 
the Great Depression, the fight for women's suffrage, World War II, and 
the civil rights movement.
  In 1914, when Jerry was born, women did not have the right to vote. 
Who could have thought then that a century later Jerry would announce 
our State's delegates on the floor of the 2016 Democratic National 
Convention for the first major-party female Presidential nominee in our 
Nation's history. It was an honor to stand by her side that day, and it 
is a moment I will never forget.
  In her 104 years, Jerry saw our State and our country through some 
tough times, but she never lost hope, she never lost optimism, and her 
commitment to bringing about the change she believed in never wavered.

[[Page H4153]]

  Her son Jim recalled that her biggest lesson was: No matter what is 
going on at that time, as long as you keep hope, you keep believing 
things will change, and you are doing you best to help change, it will 
change.
  Those words guided Jerry's life. Those words have inspired me and 
should inspire us all as we keep fighting for the things we believe in.
  We will miss you, Jerry.
  Mr. STANTON. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the members of the Arizona 
delegation for those beautiful words about Jerry Emmett.
  Now the rest of the country can see why she was such a treasure to 
those of us in Arizona and what an honor it was today to honor her 
life.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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