[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 67 (Wednesday, May 22, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S4699]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE LEGACY OF FLOYD BOLDRIDGE

 Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, today, I rise to recognize the 
legacy of a true Kansan, Floyd Boldridge. Mr. Boldridge was a life-long 
farmer and family man. During his life, he was loved by not only his 
family but by the community of Atchison, Kansas as well. During his 
funeral, La Rochelle Young, of my staff read a tribute to her uncle, 
Floyd Boldridge. As we prepare to honor our loved ones during the 
upcoming Memorial Day holiday, I think it is a fitting tribute to Mr. 
Boldridge to enter his tribute into the record of the United States 
Senate. I join with La Rochelle and Mr. Boldridge's ten children, 
Gloria Wallingford, Virginia Carol Harvey, Shirley Gooch, Betty King, 
Thelma Hibler, Leonard Boldridge, Dennis Boldridge, Brenda Nettles, 
Annette Boldridge and Eric Harvey.
  I ask that Mr. Boldridge's tribute be printed in the Record.
  The tribute follows:

                     The Legacy of Floyd Boldridge

           (By La Rochelle Murray, Niece of Floyd Boldridge)

       January 31, 2000
       A legacy of love, of family, of commitment and of integrity 
     can be said of the man who many called father, grandfather, 
     uncle, cousin, brother, friend, bull and baby boy. Floyd 
     Boldridge was the youngest of six rambunctious boys. And as 
     the ``baby'' of the family, he was loved, protected and 
     cherished in many ways. In fact, one of the brothers' 
     favorite past times was bouncing ``baby boy'' on the bed and 
     then lovingly watch him bounce off onto the floor. Perhaps, 
     this is where Uncle Floyd developed his sparkling 
     personality, his infectious laughter that could penetrate any 
     person or situation, and the indescribable bond between his 
     brothers and his fierce commitment to his family and friends.
       As a young man, Uncle Floyd grew up in a spiritual family 
     that not only took pride in the teachings of Christ, honesty 
     and hard work but also took extreme pride in the Boldridge 
     name as well. This was shown throughout Uncle Floyd's life. 
     Like most large families, each son possessed a special gift--
     one that was different from the other brothers. However, 
     instead of dwelling on the others' gift, each brother 
     nurtured and cultivated his gift in order to combine their 
     gifts with one another and sustain themselves.
       During an interview, Uncle Floyd was once asked about his 
     thoughts concerning The Great Depression. His response was 
     simplistic yet profound. He said that he did not recall 
     feeling the effects of the depression because he and his 
     brothers never wanted for anything. They pooled their 
     resources together, which allowed them to be self-sufficient 
     and continued living comfortably during one of the darkest 
     times in our nation's history. This lesson and the many other 
     lessons that he learned from his brothers was what sculpted 
     him into the energetic, fiercely loyal, loving man that his 
     children--and all of us because to Uncle Floyd, we were all 
     his family--remember today.
       During the early years of Uncle Floyd's life, his passion 
     and zeal for life was transferred to his ever-growing family. 
     Everyone who knew Uncle Floyd knew that he was very proud of 
     his children. His love for his family surpassed everything in 
     his life and will continue to live on in the lives of his 
     children and grandchildren. There were many facets to Uncle 
     Floyd's life but none compared to the love of his children.
       For example, when his daughter, Tammy, brought her husband, 
     Don, to meet her father for the first time, Uncle Floyd 
     positioned himself so that his five foot seven inch frame was 
     on a hill and Don, who is six feet three inches tall, was on 
     a flat portion of land. Once this was achieved, Don was eye 
     level with Uncle Floyd. It wasn't until later that Don 
     realized what had happened because he was so intimidated by 
     Tammy's father.
       Uncle Floyd also had a passion for peace and happiness 
     between everyone. He was never one to cause conflict or allow 
     conflict to be in his presence. He had a vivacious 
     personality that allowed him to realize that life was a 
     series of challenges and having a negative or defeatist 
     attitude would only make one's life miserable. Instead, he 
     choose to look to God first for understanding and then 
     actively engage in positive actions.
       Although Uncle Floyd was a peaceful and loving man, he was 
     also known for his enormous strength, which earned him the 
     nickname ``Bull.'' And like Sampson, everyone who tried to 
     overpower him received an often surprising and sometimes 
     painful result. For example, one of my Uncle Floyd's nephews, 
     Marvin, decided to test his uncle's strength at work. Marvin 
     made the bad decision to grab Uncle Floyd's arms. Not only 
     did Marvin say that grabbing Uncle Floyd was like grabbing a 
     hunk of steel, but remembers being turned upside down in the 
     process. All Marvin recalls of that moment was his father 
     yelling, ``Don't kill him Bull!!''
       My father, Walter D. Murray, also remembers his first 
     introduction to Uncle Floyd. He had heard many stories 
     regarding Uncle Floyd's strength and though that he would 
     show him what strength really was. So, when he shook Uncle 
     Floyd's hand, he squeezed with all of his strength and found 
     that not only did Uncle Floyd match his strength but 
     surpassed his strength so much so that after almost falling 
     to his knees, he had to ask Uncle Floyd to release his hand.
       Indeed Uncle Floyd loved life and lived his life to the 
     fullest and in doing so blessed our lives immeasurably. So 
     what can be said of his legacy? Uncle Floyd left us with a 
     profound legacy of love for God, his Son, Jesus Christ and 
     the Holy Spirit, peace among ourselves and love for our 
     fellow human. Like Christ, Uncle Floyd believed in treating 
     others as we would treat ourselves. That is why he cherished 
     his trips to the Holy Land. Uncle Floyd loved to share every 
     aspect of his trips to the Holy Land including Jerusalem and 
     Bethlehem. It was on one of these trips that he turned to his 
     daughter, Betty, and said, ``I am seeing with these eyes what 
     my father read to me from the Bible many years ago.''
       Uncle Floyd was a steadfast, deeply religious man who loved 
     Christ and the Church. In fact many nights, Uncle Floyd could 
     be found in the kitchen of Campbell Chapel African Methodist 
     Episcopal Church, where he was a life-long faithful member, 
     cooking his famous cabbage or my personal favorite, fried 
     corn. And many of Uncle Floyd's friends will remember the 
     dinners he would fix after a hunting trip or even if they 
     just chose to drop in and visit him at his home.
       Uncle Floyd also left us with the legacy of the Port 
     William Bridge. Uncle Floyd, along with his many friends, 
     worked tirelessly on achieving the dedication of this 
     historic bridge. Uncle Floyd knew the importance of 
     remembering the past in order to bridge a pathway to the 
     future. That is the reason I brought my fiance, Adrian K. 
     Young, Jr., to meet Uncle Floyd in order to gain his 
     approval. And Eric remembers when he was about to embark on 
     his career as a professional soccer player that uncle Floyd 
     said to him, ``You've now got your foot in the door--don't 
     let that door close.'' Eric now uses this premise when he is 
     coaching his soccer team.
       So we thank you Uncle Floyd for your gift of laughter, your 
     loving manner in which you made everyone especially your 
     children feel loved and appreciated, your dynamic and often 
     times animated personality, and your legacy of love and 
     peace. We will always love you and forever cherish the time 
     we spent with you.

                          ____________________