[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 64 (Thursday, April 6, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S5388]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  TRIBUTE TO MARTHA HANSON KILPATRICK

  Mr. HEFLIN. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to one of the 
best teachers I ever had, Martha Kilpatrick. She taught me at Colbert 
County High School and has kept in touch over the years by attending my 
town meetings in Reform, AL, her hometown, and by sending me letters 
and news clippings from time to time. She is a dear friend to me, and I 
know she had a great deal to do with guiding me at an early age and 
pointing me in the right direction. Her wisdom, advice, and 
encouragement were helpful to me not only as a student long ago, but 
also throughout the several stages of my career.
  It might surprise my colleagues to learn that I still have former 
teachers who are alive and well, but Martha is indeed among them. On 
April 25, she will turn 80, and Reform is planning a gala celebration 
of this milestone in her life, to take place on the 22d at the 
Methodist Church there. She will be surrounded by many friends and 
family members, each of whom have been influenced by Martha in special 
and unique ways.
  Martha Hanson was born in Columbus, MS, and as a baby moved with her 
family to Carrollton, AL, where she spent her formative years. Her 
family later moved to Reform, where she graduated high school. That 
same year, she entered Alabama College at Montevallo, now the 
University of Montevallo, where she majored in education. Her entire 
career was spent as a teacher in Alabama and Georgia. Her husband, 
Wilbur Kilpatrick, was born and raised in Reform, and although they 
lived in a variety of places during their married life, Reform was 
always home to them.
  Martha continued her own education in Atlanta, earning her masters 
degree and teaching in that school system for many years. When their 
children, Kay and Joe, were grown, Martha and Wilbur retired and moved 
back to the quiet peace of their roots in Reform, where she remains 
today. She has three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
  Her home is a virtual museum of the things she has collected over the 
years--bottles, stamps, salt and pepper shakers, antique Christmas 
ornaments, pictures, linens, glassware, and books. Her husband has 
passed away, and Martha lives alone in the large, comfortable museum of 
her life. She stays busy doing things for others, as she has always 
done.
  One of Martha's great characteristics is making and keeping friends. 
She is perhaps her local post office's best private customer, keeping 
an active correspondence with friends and family all over the world, 
including myself. She never forgets birthdays, anniversaries, special 
holidays, and her cards saying ``Get well soon'' or ``With deepest 
sympathy'' are always the first to arrive when a crisis hits.
  Martha Hanson Kilpatrick has been one of the true treasures of my 
life and the lives of many others. I am proud to commend her on an 
outstanding life, one that has been lived out in the best American 
tradition, her nurturing of young minds, and her sincere love for 
family and friends, whom she counts as her most valuable collection of 
all. As she turns 80 later this month, I trust those many family 
members and friends will reflect on the outstanding qualities this 
extraordinary lady has exhibited throughout her life. We can all learn 
from her.


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