[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 139 (Tuesday, October 16, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H6876]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        TRIBUTE TO BEA GADDY: A POINT OF LIGHT, A BEACON OF HOPE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simmons). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a great American, 
Baltimore City Councilwoman Bea Gaddy, who a few days ago succumbed to 
breast cancer at the age of 68. For decades, Bea Gaddy fed and 
sheltered the poor and homeless in our city of Baltimore. In 1992, then 
President George Bush included her among Americans he honored as 
``Points of Light.''
  Upon learning of Bea Gaddy's death, Maryland Governor Parris 
Glendening observed that she ``was a beacon of hope for those who felt 
hopeless.'' She had a unique ability to reach out and help people. She 
effectively articulated that strong communities are created when we 
recognize that every member of the community is important.
  Mr. Speaker, as the testaments of these national leaders witnessed, 
Bea Gaddy's vision for America transcended the divisions of race, 
class, and party that all too often limit our potential as a people. 
Her legacy was directed to those of us who have the ability to give, as 
well as to the thousands whom she helped to survive poverty. Every 
year, hundreds of volunteers and I joined Mrs. Gaddy for the 
Thanksgiving dinner she prepared for those who were homeless. As I 
watched her tireless and forever smiling generosity towards others, I 
realized that God had sent us an angel, that God was reminding us 
through her that every person has value.
  Mrs. Gaddy used her own trials in life as a passport for helping 
others. Her love for other people, and especially for those in the 
greatest need, became a force for compassion and change throughout 
Baltimore and the rest of America. Our hearts go out to Mrs. Gaddy's 
family as we join them in mourning the loss of a truly remarkable human 
being.
  Bea Gaddy challenged those who came to her caught in the grip of 
poverty to take control of their own destinies. She helped them to 
learn the skills of perseverance that would uplift their lives. Bea 
Gaddy also called upon those of us to whom life has been generous, 
asking that we share our fortunes and our lives with those who are less 
fortunate. Poor and rich alike, the people of Baltimore responded to 
her vision because of the conviction that she had gained from the 
trials in her life. As I stated at her funeral a few days ago, she 
fully understood that we are all the walking wounded, and that at some 
point in our lives, every single one of us will stand like the blind 
man on the corner of a busy highway waiting for someone to lead us 
across.
  We knew that she herself had been born into poverty during the Great 
Depression. This remarkable woman had once been forced by her own 
childhood of poverty to scavenge for food from the garbage bins of 
restaurants and grocery stores. We, who knew and worked with Bea Gaddy, 
realized that her life had been filled with poverty and pain. We also 
knew, however, that she had transformed her life, completing high 
school, earning a college degree, and marrying a wonderful man named 
Mr. Lacy Gaddy, who died in 1995.
  Bea Gaddy became known and beloved throughout Maryland for those 
wonderful annual Thanksgiving dinners that she provided to as many as 
20,000 needy people. She was admired for her efforts to provide toys to 
the poor children at Christmastime, for distributing donated shoes and 
clothing in the winter months, and for the summer camp she helped to 
sustain. It is less well known, however, that many of the people whom 
Bea Gaddy fed and encouraged there at her North Collington Avenue row 
home in Baltimore later returned to volunteer after they had become 
self-reliant members of the community. Mrs. Gaddy's life teaches us 
that a saint does more than minister to our needs; a saint also 
inspires by the witness of her life.
  In 1999, Bea Gaddy took her mission on behalf of those whom America 
had left behind to the Baltimore City Council. During the last 2 years 
of her life, she continued to work in the community while advocating 
for housing, employment, and health care programs in the halls of 
Baltimore local government. We will hold her family in our prayers.
  Mr. Speaker, tonight, 600,000 Americans will struggle to find shelter 
because they have no home to call their own. Nearly one-half of them 
will have work at jobs this week, but not have earned enough money to 
afford a home. By the legacy of the life of Bea Gaddy, she offered 
America a clear vision of compassion and commitment that can address 
this national tragedy.
  Mr. Speaker, a great American is gone from our midst, but we have 
been empowered to carry on her work.

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