December 12, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 199 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1584-E1585]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    MR. HENRY COLE'S 100TH BIRTHDAY

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                            HON. JOHN LEWIS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 12, 2019

  Mr. LEWIS. Madam Speaker, on Thursday, December 19, 2019, Mr. Henry 
Cole of Washington, D.C. will celebrate his centennial birthday.
  Mr. Cole and his nine siblings were born and raised right here in the 
nation's capital, where he developed a love for his family, his 
hometown, and his nation. During World War II, Mr. Cole honorably 
served in the United States Navy and was stationed at Pearl Harbor in 
Honolulu, Hawaii.
  After the war, he returned home to Washington, D.C., where he 
continued his pursuit of the American Dream. Mr. Cole worked as a 
machinist at the Washington Navy Yard, opened a family-owned restaurant 
with his sister, and eventually retired from the United States Postal 
Service in 1980 after a long, distinguished career in public service.
  I believe one of the most moving and inspirational aspects of Mr. 
Cole's legacy and life is the love affair he shared with Gloria, his 
beloved wife of 68 years. Together, they raised seven children--
Theodore, Shelia, Sylvia, Linda, Rex, Alice and Don. Those seeds 
planted with love continue to flourish in their 25 grandchildren, 
great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.
  Madam Speaker, there is an African proverb that says, ``What you help 
a child to love can be more important than what you help him to 
learn.'' Mr. Cole adored his family, his country, and his community; 
however, he never restricted his devotion and wisdom to his immediate 
family and maintained an open door and served as a father figure and 
role model to countless others.
  As we strive towards realizing the dream of a nation at peace with 
itself and her neighbors, Mr. Cole witnessed and was an agent of 
change. On the behalf of a grateful nation, I thank this beloved 
patriarch for embodying courage, character, compassion for the last 
century.
  For these reasons, Madam Speaker, I am proud to join the family and 
all who know and love Mr. Henry Cole in honoring him on the occasion of 
his 100th birthday.

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