[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 87 (Wednesday, May 24, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1106]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


       IN RECOGNITION OF THREE BAILEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RETIREES

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                            HON. KEN BENTSEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 23, 1995
  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the longstanding 
service and dedication of three employees of the William F. Bailey 
Elementary School of Pasadena, TX, who will retire at the end of this 
month.
  Bailey Elementary has provided an excellent education to the 
thousands of students that have passed through its doors in its 37-year 
history. Bailey was the first school to establish the Right Choice 
Program, which teaches children that with everything there is a right 
and a wrong choice. It is the only elementary school with a choir, 
orchestra, and band in the Pasadena Independent School District. The 
entire staff at Bailey Elementary School works together with one goal 
in mind: To make every child a winner.
  These three individuals, Patricia Ann Autrey Hawkins, Rebecca Faye 
Dorsett Buck, and Pauline Sophie Trojanowski Braden, have demonstrated 
their commitment to this goal and to the students of Bailey Elementary.
  Mrs. Hawkins was born on July 22, 1938. Her parents devoted their 
lives to public education, spending over 75 years in the classroom or 
administration, so it was no surprise when Patricia attended Sam 
Houston State Teachers College and the University of Houston. She 
received her bachelor degree in education from Sam Houston in 1959. Her 
first teaching experience began with the Houston Independent School 
District, but she moved to Pasadena Independent School District after 
only one semester. She taught at Red Bluff Elementary for 5 years, 
before she and her family moved to Austin for her husband to complete 
his graduate studies. Mrs. Hawkins returned to Pasadena in 1969 and 
began her career again at Bailey Elementary School as a fourth grade 
teacher. She never left.
  Mrs. Hawkins' dedication to education was not limited to the 
classroom, however. She remained active in the Texas State Teachers 
Association, the Pasadena Junior Forum, Delta Kappa Gamma, and First 
United Methodist Church. She served as a grade-level chairman and on 
numerous faculty committees at Bailey, and she was also honored with a 
Texas lifetime membership to the PTA. Mrs. Hawkins also found time to 
complete her own education, and she received her masters degree from 
Southwest Texas State Teachers College in 1965.
  Mrs. Hawkins and her husband Sam have remained in the Pasadena area 
for over 30 years. Their children, Malcolm and Melissa, continue to 
live in Texas. Mrs. Hawkins will retire from Pasadena Independent 
School District and Bailey Elementary on May 29, 1995, after 31 years 
in public education.
  Rebecca Faye Dorsett Buck was born on September 4, 1938, and moved to 
Houston at the age of 6. He graduated from Galena Park High School in 
1956 and married her husband, Ronald Buck, in December 1957. Mrs. Buck 
waited until her three children, Ronald, Teresa, and Terrie, were in 
high school before she started to work in the Pasadena School District. 
She began in the visual handicap program in 1975, and after taking 1 
year off, she returned to complete 19 years working at Bailey 
Elementary School, her latest position as a member of the office staff.
  Mrs. Buck has also dedicated herself to activities outside the 
school, including the Central Baptist Church. She has a great talent 
for decorating and is very creative with arts, crafts, and floral 
arrangements. Mrs. Buck also spends a great deal of time entertaining 
her six grandchildren.
  According to her coworkers and friends, Mrs. Buck goes out of her way 
to help anyone and treats everyone equally. She has maintained the 
respect and admiration of the faculty, administration, and students 
during her 19 years at Bailey.
  Pauline Sophie Trojanowski Braden was born on February 6, 1931, in 
Sealy, TX. She married Anton Otto Braden, Jr. in October 1948, and has 
5 children, 10 grandchildren, and 1 great-grandchild. Mrs. Braden began 
working with Pasadena Independent School District in 1971, and will be 
retiring from the cafeteria staff of Bailey this year.
  Mrs. Braden has lived in Pasadena since 1960. Currently three of her 
children and one grandchild live with her. Her daughter Cynthia said, 
in a tribute to her mother, that:

       She would not hesitate to give anything she has to anyone 
     of her family with no thought of asking for repayment. She 
     comes from a large family and does not consider this living 
     arrangement as cramped as some might think. I might even go 
     as far to say she is happy because this is her family. Little 
     does mother know she is giving up something which is totally 
     unknown to her, and as of now it may never be known to her. 
     That is total peace mind. And even if she was aware of what 
     she might be missing, she would choose to give it up for her 
     family anyway.

  Mrs. Braden will be sorely missed for her warmth, dedication, and 
friendship to Bailey Elementary, its staff, and its students.
  I congratulate Mrs. Hawkins, Mrs. Buck, and Mrs. Braden on their 
combined 73 years of service to the Pasadena School District and to the 
Pasadena community. I wish them the very best as they enjoy their 
retirement, and I am certain they all will be missed at Bailey 
Elementary.


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