[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 4, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E25]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      TRIBUTE TO SADIE HARVEY ODOM

                                 ______


                         HON. THOMAS C. SAWYER

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 4, 1995
  Mr. SAWYER. Mr. Speaker, every so often in life, if we are fortunate 
enough, someone comes along whose grace and wisdom enriches our own 
experience. Someone whose capacity to serve others inspires us to move 
beyond the limits we impose on ourselves, even as we wonder if we can 
ever match such a gift for giving.
  Sadie Harvey Odom, a 41-year resident of Akron, OH, was such a human 
being. Every person whose life she touched--from her family, to her 
friends, to the broader community in which she lived--marveled at her 
generosity of spirit, force of intellect, and strength of character.
  Born in Atlanta in 1924, Sadie Harvey completed high school at the 
age of 15. She went on to graduate cum laude 4 years later from Morris 
Brown College, where she was a founding member of the school's Alpha 
Kappa Alpha sorority chapter. She had hoped to study medicine at the 
University of Georgia, but was denied admission because the school 
would not educate African-Americans. Always determined to forge ahead, 
Sadie Harvey worked in the aeronautical engineering lab at a U.S. Air 
Force base in Hampton, VA, during World War II. Upon returning to 
Atlanta after the war, she met and married Vernon Odom, with whom she 
would share the next 47 years of her life. The Odoms moved to Akron in 
1953, intending to stay only for 3 years. Instead, they spent the rest 
of their lives together in Akron, raising a family and devoting 
themselves to community service and the betterment of African-
Americans.
  Vernon Odom headed the Akron Urban League and the Akron Community 
Service Center for nearly three decades. His beloved wife, Sadie, was 
beside him every step of the way. She was a guiding force behind local 
Urban League programs and volunteered with many other civic 
organizations, including the American Cancer Society, the United Negro 
College Fund, and the NAACP.
  Even as she gave selflessly of her time and herself in support of her 
community, Mrs. Odom raised a superb family of her own and worked as a 
medical technologist at St. Thomas Hospital. She applied her biology 
training to her volunteer work, as well, helping to test Akron's 
schoolchildren for sickle cell anemia and elderly residents for 
diabetes.
  Mr. Speaker, there are many people in this world who live full, 
honest, and caring lives. And then there are the Sadie Odoms, whose 
integrity and selflessness leave a mark that is indelible.
  Sadie Harvey Odom passed away on October 20, 1994, after a long 
illness. An entire community mourns as it contemplates this loss. But 
we also share the gratitude that comes from knowing a person with a 
heart of grace and a soul of love--from knowing Sadie Odom.


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