[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 15 (Wednesday, February 16, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E160-E161]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING THE LIFE OF SHIRLEY RYALS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM DAVIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 16, 2000

  Mr. DAVIS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, no one I know loved Tampa more 
than Shirley Ryals and no one I know worked harder to make our 
community a better place. Her passing is a tremendous loss for all of 
us.
  I will never forget Shirley's incredibly selfless devotion to 
countless causes; her courage; her grace; her sense of humor, including 
her willingness to laugh at herself; and her remarkable ability to 
relate to people. Shirley did not hesitate to stand up for what she 
believed in. She often prevailed and got things done because people 
knew that she respected and appreciated them and that she was always 
thinking about what was best for our community.
  Shirley Ryals did not understand the meaning of the word cannot. Such 
a word didn't exist in her vocabulary. Her approach was simply that 
anything was possible if you work hard and dedicate yourself to 
accomplishing a goal. Her work to bring three Superbowls to Tampa is a 
testament to that, as is the endless list of other good works she did 
to better our community.
  Through the Tampa Junior Women's Club, she established the Tampa Oral 
School for the Deaf, the first preschool program in Hillsborough County 
that allowed families to keep their children at home instead of sending 
them hundreds of miles away for an education. The program has helped 
thousands of children emerge from their sounds of silence and is now a 
part of the Hillsborough County Public School System.
  Her achievements, activities and honors are almost too numerous to 
mention. She was named Tampa's 1995 Citizen of the Year. She served as 
a trustee for the University of Tampa and the Tampa Bay Performing Arts 
Center and as an executive committee member of the American Red Cross, 
Hillsborough Community College Foundation and Outback Bowl Foundation. 
She was also on the Florida State Fair Authority and on the boards of 
the Boys & Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts of America, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer 
Center Foundation and many other groups.

[[Page E161]]

  One of the amazing things to me is that despite all the demands on 
her time, Shirley never let any project or any task come before her 
family. She was a devoted wife to Lester, a wonderful mother to Karen 
and Les, and a doting grandmother to Caroline and Courtney. She also 
carved out time each week for a Sunday night dinner with all of the 
family, a tradition that is becoming more and more rare in our busy 
society.
  In an editorial praising Shirley's life, The Tampa Tribune wrote,

       Shirley Ryals should be an inspiration to us all. She 
     worked hard and effectively for the public good. She never 
     lost sight of the importance of family and friends. And she 
     left an enduring mark on her community, which benefited 
     immeasurably from her wonderful way of helping people work 
     together. It is commonplace in editorials like this to 
     observe that the subject ``will be missed.'' Missed? Shirley 
     Ryals, how are we going to get along without you?

  Like so many others in our community, I'm going to miss my dear 
friend, Shirley. May she rest in peace.

                          ____________________