[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 95 (Tuesday, July 8, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IN MEMORY OF BILL CLEAVINGER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. LARRY COMBEST

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 8, 1997

  Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, the family farm lost one of its very own 
when Bill Cleavinger passed away after a generation of working the 
soil, tending to his family, and nurturing his community.
  Bill remained most at home on the family farm and at his best when he 
spoke up for farming families. First as Texas Sugar Beet Growers 
Association president and later executive director, he rose to the 
position of national spokesman as American Sugarbeet Growers 
Association president. Because he always lived his life close to 
farming, folks could readily understand and count on what Bill 
Cleavinger had to say about production agriculture.
  As a boy, he helped his father with farm chores, then after college 
and service in the military, Bill returned to the family farm to work 
alongside his father. In the rural Panhandle community of Wildorado, 
Bill and his wife June raised their family on down-to-earth values 
while they worked the good earth to raise each year's crop.
  In his life, Bill Cleavinger was father, farmer, school board member, 
director of church music, and director of a local bank. To those of us 
who knew him, Bill was much more than those titles could possibly 
suggest.
  Even with his passing, there will be a next generation of family 
farmers who will come to know about men like Bill Cleavinger through an 
internship established in his name to honor personal leadership, 
persistence, creativity, patience, and integrity.

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