[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 148 (Friday, October 16, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2218]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  A TRIBUTE TO LEONARD AND AUDREY PACK

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                           HON. VAN HILLEARY

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 16, 1998

  Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Leonard and 
Audrey Pack.
  I have known Mr. Pack and his family my entire life. Mr. Pack is 
truly a self-made man. He spent his teenage years working in a local 
textile mill, learning the textile business inside and out. His hard 
work and dedication resulted in his becoming one of the mill's most 
valued managers. Even after retirement, he started a smaller textile 
operation, where he continues to put in a full day's work.
  Mr. Pack represents the ideal American dream. Anything is possible if 
you work hard and stay committed to your goals.
  Mr. Pack's success in his profession was due in no small part to his 
commitment to his family. With his wife Audrey, the Packs raised a 
daughter, Patty, who raised two children of her own, Sherry and Rocky, 
with her husband, Bob Sylar, before she succumbed to cancer.
  To honor his late wife, Audrey, and her love of books and dedication 
to the local library, Leonard Pack funded the exterior renovation of 
the existing public library. Redicated as the Audrey Pack Library, it 
was patterned after the Spring City Depot, another historic landmark in 
Spring City, our hometown.
  In 1940, Mrs. Pack and a group of ladies in Spring City organized a 
chapter of the business and Professional Women's Club. The newly formed 
club decided to sponsor a library and Mrs. Pack agreed to act as 
librarian. The library of 75-100 books was housed in her small retail 
shop from 1940 to 1956, when it was moved to the city hall building.
  Mr. Pack's generosity is a testament to his love for his family and 
the community in which he has lived for over eighty years. Having known 
Mr. Pack all of my life, it comes as no surprise that he would make 
such a statement in the way he did. A simple gesture from a self-made 
man with little fanfare but a lasting memorial.

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