[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 3, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E324]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO HANNAH COVINGTON McGEE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ROBIN HAYES

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 3, 1999

  Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Hannah 
Covington McGee, a woman who was dedicated to serve in her community 
and at Wingate University in Wingate, North Carolina.
  Mrs. McGee, was a native of Rockingham, North Carolina. The McGees 
moved to Wingate 6\1/2\ years ago when her husband, Jerry, was named 
president of Wingate University. Together they have raised two sons and 
served the thousands of students who have attended Wingate University 
under their tenure.
  Jerry and Hannah McGee have been married 33 years. They have been 
sweethearts ever since his high school football days in Richmond 
County, North Carolina. Dr. McGee often referred to his wife as ``the 
girl with the ponytail who stole my heart.''
  At Wingate University, Mrs. McGee, an art lover, took a keen interest 
in the new fine arts center. She helped lead the fund-raising campaign 
for a new George A. Batte Fine Arts Center and assisted with its 
interior decoration. As the wife of the President, Mrs. McGee attended 
numerous dinners, graduations and special functions at Wingate, that 
she was not required to attend. But she shared her husband's commitment 
to the University and was honored to participate.
  In the community, Mrs. McGee was tireless in her efforts to serve. 
She helped launch English as a second language program in the Union 
County schools. Mrs. McGee was on the Board of Directors at the Union 
County Players, and she helped in restoring the M.B. Dry Memorial 
Chapel on campus.
  Most recently, the McGees were in Tortola in the British Virgin 
Islands where Dr. McGee was on a three month sabbatical to relax and 
spend more time with his wife. In remarks Dr. McGee released, he said, 
``She was the mother, wife, daughter and sister that everyone dreams 
of--one of the easiest people to love who ever lived.'' Hannah McGee 
will be missed. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring a remarkable 
woman.

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