[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 87 (Wednesday, May 24, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1104]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   THE PASSING OF MRS. AMY BULL CRIST

                                 ______


                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 23, 1995
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is with deep regret that I inform our 
colleagues of the passing of a remarkable woman Orange County's first 
lady, Mrs. Amy Bull Crist of Orange Count, NY, this past weekend, at 
the age of 89.
  Amy Bull Crist born on March 9, 1906 in Brick Castle, her home in 
Stony Ford, NY, was a lifelong resident of Orange County. The building 
in which she was born was built by William Bull and Sarah Wells, her 
direct ancestors, who in 1718 became the first European couple married 
in what is now Orange County, NY.
  As the daughter of Orange County's oldest and most illustrious 
family, Amy Bull Crist could have opted for a life of leisure. Instead, 
at an early age she determined to devote her life to the service of 
others.
  When she was only 18--soon after her 1924 graduation from Middletown 
High School--she was invited to try her hand at teaching. Weary of farm 
work on the family estate, she eagerly grasped the opportunity to teach 
and within the next 15 years, as she taught in one-room schoolhouses, 
at Goosetown School in Hamptonburgh and at Cross Roads School in 
Montgomery, she became known county wide as one of the most outstanding 
educators in the region. Amy looked after her students like a doting 
parent, arranging dental and eyeglass appointments for those students 
who needed it, and in many ways making her mark upon the lives whose 
education was entrusted to her expertise and compassion. Subsequently 
she served as principal at Goodwill School. By the time of her 
retirement in the mid-1970's, Amy had risen to become our region's top 
education administrator, serving not only as district superintendent of 
schools for Orange and Ulster County, but also as district 
superintendent and executive officer for the Board of Cooperative 
Educational Services [BOCES].
  Recognizing that our young people are our most valuable resource, Amy 
determined that education was the most worthwhile endeavor to which she 
could devote herself. Her lifelong career as an educator was a living 
testament to those who cherish this investment in our future. As a 
grade school teacher, a school superintendent, and as a trustee of our 
Orange County Community College which she was so instrumental in 
funding, Amy Bull Crist touched the lives of thousands of students. She 
served as founder and first superintended of Orange-Ulster BOCES for 
many years prior to her 1974 retirement, and the affection and respect 
in which the community held her is underscored by the fact that the 
BOCES complex is named in her honor.
  As was typical of Amy's style, she never satisfied herself by resting 
on her laurels. She continued to teach evening and summer classes at 
New York University, the State University College at New Paltz, and at 
Orange County Community College in Middletown.
  Amy was one of the last of her generation: a generation which saw 
Orange County progress from the farming area which her family helped to 
pioneer to the fastest-growing region of New York State. Throughout the 
many changes which Amy witnessed in her lifetime, she remained constant 
in her beliefs that those who are more fortunate have a moral 
responsibility to help neighbors enjoy more productive lives and live 
up to their potential.
  Amy's philanthropic and civic endeavors in so many important 
activities, including Occupations, Inc., the Orange County Mental 
Health Association, the Goshen Historic Track, the proposed Youth 
Facility for the Town of Wallkill, the American Heart Association, and 
so many other worthwhile endeavors, helped make a better life for all 
of us.
  Amy also remained active with the Arboretum Committee for Orange 
County Park; the Montgomery Grange; the Presbyterian Church in 
Hamptonburgh; and the Emeriti Association of Orange County Community 
College. She was an honorary member of the Order of the Eastern Star in 
Walden. She organized the Amy Bull Crist Reading Association, the Amy 
Bull Crist Youth-in-Government Association, and the Orange County 
Farmers Association and Museum.
  Emanuel Axelrod, who succeeded Army as Orange-Ulster BOCES 
superintendent after her retirement in 1974, said upon her passing: 
``She never wavered when she felt she was right. I will never forget 
her. She was one of the most outstanding people I've known.''
  Amy was chairman of the Orange County museums--Hill Hold and Brick 
House--the original lands and buildings of her family. She was well 
known for presiding at the well-publicized Bull family summer reunions 
which brought together her many relatives from throughout the United 
States and the world and which on occasion I had the pleasure of 
attending.
  Amy, the widow of the late Clarence H. Crist, is survived by a large 
family including her sister, Molly B. Bazemore of Augusta, GA; two 
nieces, including Mary Ann Cohen of Goshen, NY; four nephews, including 
Michael K. Brown of Campbell Hall, NY, and William Bull Brown of 
Middletown; 19 great-nieces and great-nephews; and 13 great-great 
nieces and great-great nephews.
  I often relied upon Amy for advice and assistance in many of my 
responsibilities in the Congress. She always had a patient ear, a keen 
insight, and a helping hand.
  Amy left us this past weekend; peacefully in her sleep at her home, 
Brick Castle--the same home in which she was born 89 years earlier!
  Our county, our region, and our State will long miss Orange County's 
First Lady, Amy Bull Crist.
  Mr. Speaker, I call upon all of my colleagues to join with me in 
paying tribute to a truly remarkable lady.


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