[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 150 (Thursday, December 7, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  DEATH OF MRS. FLOSSIE PARKER BARBER

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                           HON. BOB ETHERIDGE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 7, 2000

  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Flossie Parker Barber died November 
15, 2000, after a life that spanned 91 years. She was my fifth grade 
teacher. She was also the major influence that took a poor farm boy 
from Johnston County, described to him the wonderful world he would be 
entering, and then motivated him to set goals that were beyond his 
wildest dreams.
  She did not know the meaning of the word, ``can't,'' and she 
instilled that philosophy in her students.
  Every individual should have the opportunity to sit before a teacher 
of the dedication Mrs. Barber displayed. In her 34 years of teaching at 
the old Cleveland Union School, she was fair and honest with all her 
students. But she would accept from each nothing less than all the 
excellence each was capable of providing.
  She was never too busy to help a student; she loved us openly and 
with devotion; and she is, to me, the epitome of what constitutes a 
good teacher. She described to her students the better world she 
wanted, and ever since those days in the fifth grade, we have been 
attempting to build that world for her. Mrs. Barber gave truth to the 
old adage that a good teacher's influence never stops, that teachers 
affect eternity by the influence they have on their students.
  I was lucky to have Mrs. Barber for a teacher. I was luckier still 
that she became my friend and advisor when I became an adult.
  Mrs. Barber was a graduate of East Carolina Teachers College, now 
East Carolina University and was always a strong supporter of the 
school.
  Mrs. Barber was the widow of Percy D. Barber. She is survived by one 
son, Robert W. Barber and his wife, Elizabeth T. Barber of Clayton. She 
left two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
  A funeral service for Mrs. Barber was held at her church, Oakland 
Presbyterian, on November 17. Mrs. Barber had requested the following, 
``A Teacher's Prayer,'' be part of her final ceremony. The prayer is by 
James J. Metcalf and is presented here:
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``I wanted to teach my students how,
``To live this life on earth;
``To face its struggles and its strike,
``And improve their worth.
``Not just the lesson in the book,
``Or how the rivers flow;
``But how to choose the proper path,
``Wherever they may go.
``To understand eternal truth,
``And know the right from wrong;
``And gather all the beauty of,
``A flower and a song.
``For if I helped the world to grow,
``In wisdom and in grace;
``Then I shall feel that I have won,
``And I have filled my place.
``And so I ask your guidance, God,
``That I have done my part;
``For character and confidence.
``And happiness and heart.''
  We shall miss this remarkable woman, who even now is undoubtedly 
organizing and teaching all the young angels.

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