[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 105 (Monday, July 29, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1440-E1441]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNITION OF RETIREMENT OF MILDRED PARSONS FROM THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF 
                             INVESTIGATION

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ALBERT RUSSELL WYNN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 26, 2002

  Mr. WYNN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor Mildred C. Parsons, a 
constituent in my district who recently retired from the Federal Bureau 
of Investigation. With the recent controversial security revelations 
and the new reorganization of the Homeland Security Department, we have 
not heard much positive news about our Nation's security agencies.
  Despite what we often hear or see in the media, there are many 
dedicated individuals who are working diligently within these agencies. 
In particular, I would like to commend Ms. Mildred Parsons of Takoma 
Park, Maryland, affectionately called ``Millie'' by her co-workers, for 
her tremendous service. Ms. Parsons, who retired from the FBI in June 
at the age of 88, was recognized with an article in the Washington 
Post, which I would like to enter into the official House Record. In 62 
years, 9 months, and 2 days, Ms. Parsons never once called in sick to 
work and retired in June with over 6,000 hours in sick leave.
  She has been called an ``institution within an institution'' by her 
former supervisor at the field office. I would like to again thank Ms. 
Parsons for her wonderful and diligent service, and wish her a 
wonderful retirement. Judging from the article on her, she still has a 
lot of spunk left.
  I think all of us can learn a lot from Ms. Parsons' spirit, hard 
work, and determination. Thank you Ms. Parsons, your hard work is the 
foundation upon which our Nation was built.

               [From the Washington Post, June 29, 2002]

                   Not a Single Sick Day in 62 Years

                           (By Allan Lengel)

       Mildred Parsons, bucking the very laws of nature, worked as 
     an FBI secretary in Washington for 62 years, 9 months and 2 
     days--never once calling in sick.
       Yesterday, clad in a bright-pink dress suit adorned with a 
     white corsage, Parsons, 88, the longest-serving employee in 
     FBI history, retired. Her final day on the job included a 
     visit to the office of the director, Robert S. Mueller III, 
     and a party, during which former and current co-workers 
     showered her with hugs and unbridled adulation.
       ``No, I'm not going to cry,'' she told well-wishers. ``It 
     is sad, but at the same time, it's nice. Everyone has to 
     retire sometime. It's time for me to leave.''
       In nearly 63 years on the job, Parsons, known as Millie, 
     had a headache or two and a cold, but no ailment serious 
     enough to make her stay home.
       ``I may have sneezed or something, or had a little bit of a 
     cold,'' she said. ``If I had a headache, I just went in 
     there. If I was around people, I would forget.''
       Parsons said she doesn't take vitamins or use secret herbs. 
     ``I eat whatever I want,'' she said. ``I eat a lot of TV 
     dinners, whatever sounds good or looks good at the time.''
       She gets some exercise. There's ballroom dancing and the 
     six-block walk to the bus to stop each workday, and back 
     again, from her home in suburban Maryland.
       But she credited her good health to the joy of ``being 
     around people.''
       Parsons's sick-free record became a matter of pride--and 
     legend--at the FBI. In the early 1990s, FBI agent Frank 
     Scafidi pulled a prank, altering her pay-check stub to 
     reflect an hour of sick leave. Furious, she got on the phone 
     to FBI headquarters--then learned it was a joke.
       Her boss, Van Harp, who heads the FBI Washington field 
     office near Judiciary Square, called her ``an institution 
     within an institution.'' Co-workers described her as witty, 
     with a good sense of humor but also a serious side. She liked 
     to take charge, they said, and she paid great attention to 
     detail.
       ``She was a stickler for everything. . . . You have to have 
     every comma in place, every `i' dotted,'' said Donna 
     Cummings, administrative assistant to Harp. ``But she liked 
     to party and have a good time.''
       After graduating from high school in Frederick in 1930, 
     Parsons worked at the old Woodward & Lothrop department store 
     in the District. In 1939, she took a job as a clerk-typist at 
     FBI headquarters, moving to the Washington field office in 
     1940.
       By the end of her career yesterday, she had worked under 
     six FBI directors and 30 bosses at the field office.
       ``People ask who my favorite boss was,'' she said. ``That's 
     something I do not discuss.

[[Page E1441]]

     I enjoyed working for the majority of them. Everyone had a 
     little different style, which made it more interesting.''
       Some notable moments included being summoned to the office 
     of J. Edgar Hoover, who wanted to give her a 10-year 
     anniversary pin for her service.
       ``He was very, very nice, very formal,'' recalled Parsons.
       She also remembers the time she spoke with Shirley Temple. 
     Her boss in the early 1950s, who was from California, had 
     friends in Hollywood. One day, he asked her to get the 
     actress on the phone.
       ``I gave her my name. I said, `I think I've seen all your 
     movies.' . . . I had to tell her that.''
       Parsons was always discreet about discussing her work. She 
     wouldn't even share FBI information with her husband, who 
     drove her to work every day until his death in 1967.
       With leisure at hand, she plans to continue with ballroom 
     dancing and keep up with her favorite television program, 
     ``JAG.''
       Other than that, ``I have no plans. . . . I can't help but 
     miss [the FBI]. I mean, I've been here for over 62 years. It 
     will probably take a while to get adjusted.''

     

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