[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 20 (Wednesday, February 1, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E243-E244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                POSTHUMOUS TRIBUTE TO JAMES LERON CHERRY

                                 ______


                          HON. CARRIE P. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, February 1, 1995
  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is a distinct honor to pay 
tribute to one of Miami's unsung heroes, James Leron Cherry. His 
untimely demise on January 16, 1995, leaves a great void in our 
community.
  Born in Moultri, GA, Mr. Cherry overcame the abject poverty into 
which he was born. He worked even at an early age helping his father do 
odd jobs to put food on the family's table and clothes on his siblings. 
But he also developed an insatiable thirst for education, along with 
the acumen for learning the intricacies of carpentry and woodwork. At 
his country's calling, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to 
the European theater during World War II. After the war and through his 
resilience and gritty determination, he obtained his college education 
from my alma mater, Florida A&M University, graduating with both 
bachelor's and master's degrees.
  Married to the late Representative Gwen Cherry, my dear friend and 
predecessor in the Florida Legislatures, Mr. Cherry fully lived up to 
his calling as an educator. He was employed by the Dade Country Public 
Schools in Miami where his high standards for learning and achievement 
won him the accolades of his beloved community. Promoted as coordinator 
of adult education at Miami Northwestern High School in the early 
1960's, his successes in educating many a wayward inner-city youth 
become legendary. He gained the confidence of countless parents who saw 
him as the educator par excellence, entrusting him with the future of 
their children and confident that they would learn from him the tenets 
of scholarship and the pursuit of academic excellence under the rigors 
of a no-nonsense discipline.
  [[Page E244]] His approach to educating the inner-city young boys and 
girls who came under his tutelage emphasized personal responsibility. 
In times of cries crowding his students' learning, his forthright 
guidance and counsel was one based on faith in God and faith in one's 
ability to survive the vicissitudes of life.
  Our community was deeply touched and comforted by his undaunted 
leadership, kindly compassion, and personal warmth. He preached and 
lived by the adage that the quest for personal integrity, academic 
excellence, and professional achievement is not beyond the reach of 
those who are willing to dare the impossible. This is the legacy that 
James Leron Cherry bequeathed to us. I am greatly privileged to have 
known this noble human being.


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