[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 131 (Monday, September 19, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                FRANCES GOFF--A TEXAS LEADER AND LEGEND

                                 ______


                            HON. J.J. PICKLE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 19, 1994

  Mr. PICKLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call to the attention of the 
Nation, the loss of a great lady, Frances E. Goff, who dedicated her 
life to the betterment of others. Ms. Goff died September 15, 1994, at 
her home in Houston. She was 78. A private burial was held Sunday at 
the State Cemetery of Texas in Austin.
  Ms. Goff, a native of Kenedy, TX, began her career in government 
after receiving an associate's degree in business from San Antonio 
Business College.
  From 1937 to 1951, Ms. Goff worked in several government capacities 
including serving as a sergeant major with the Army Air Force between 
1944 and 1946. During that time, she was administrative specialist and 
top aide to the commanding officers of Love Field Air Base in Dallas.
  In 1951, Ms Goff joined Dr. R. Lee Clark, who was instrumental in 
pioneering the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. As director of special 
projects she helped coordinate continuing education conferences and 
served as a patient advocate. At M.D. Anderson, Ms. Goff guided 
virtually every aspect of the building and renovation programs from 
1951 until 1978, when the facility grew into one of the largest 
comprehensive cancer centers in the world.
  Since 1952, Ms. Goff had been director of the American Legion 
Auxiliary Bluebonnet Girls State, a summer program for high school 
girls that promotes model citizenship. As Girls State grew, she 
coordinated the year long planning and promotion of the model 
citizenship program attended by almost 25,000 Texas teenage girls.
  In recognition of her outstanding volunteerism, she was inducted into 
the Texas Women's Hall of Fame in 1986. She also received the American 
Legion National commendation Award and the Valley Forge Freedom 
Foundation Honor Award. A scholarship was established in her name at 
the University of Texas' LBJ School of Public Affairs in Austin.
  Ms. Goff was appointed by Gov. Ann Richards to serve as state 
chairwoman of the Women in Military Service for American Memorial 
Foundation Inc., which is responsible for establishing a memorial in 
Washington, DC honoring women who fought and died during the Vietnam 
War.
  We salute Frances Goff for her service to others, her dedication to 
the principles of democracy embodied by her 42 year long involvement 
with the American Legion Auxiliary Bluebonnet Girls State, and her 
guiding hand in the development of one of the world's greatest cancer 
research facilities, the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Her life touched 
and influenced many people and her passing has not gone unnoticed.
  Mr. Speaker, I have had innumerable contacts with Frances Goff over 
the years. she was a true professional, but more than that, she was a 
great human being.

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