[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 51 (Wednesday, April 14, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E651]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO THE LATE JAMES McCLURE CLARKE

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                         HON. CHARLES H. TAYLOR

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 14, 1999

  Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay 
tribute to our former colleague James McClure Clarke of Fairview, North 
Carolina who passed away last night. Although we were of different 
political parties and had our differences, James Clarke was a 
distinguished politician and, at all times, a gentleman.
  Originally from Manchester, Vermont, Congressman Clarke graduated 
from Princeton University in 1939. He served as a Naval officer in the 
Pacific Theater during World War II from 1942-1945. Upon returning from 
the war, he began a lifetime of public service to the people of Western 
North Carolina, service that included the role of senior editor of the 
Asheville Citizen-Times from 1961-1969 and eight years on the Buncombe 
County School Board. He served with distinction two terms in the North 
Carolina House of Representatives from 1977-1980, and one term in the 
state Senate from 1981-1982. He represented North Carolina's 11th 
District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983-1985 and again 
from 1987-1989.
  Congressman Clarke set a standard of service for the people of North 
Carolina to which every future member who has the privilege to 
represent them will be held. In every aspect of his professional and 
personal life, Congressman Clarke exhibited a gentility that is rarely 
seen in politics today. We will all certainly miss him. My prayers and 
those of everyone in Western North Carolina are with the Clarke family.

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