[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 146 (Friday, October 17, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12834-S12835]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO JEAN SUTTON

 Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
dear friend, Jean Elizabeth Rodgers Sutton, of Linden, AL. Jean Sutton 
died on Tuesday, September 16, at the age of 62.
  Jean was born in Jackson, MS, and attended Hinds Junior College in 
Raymond, MS. She received a Junior College Press Association 
Scholarship to continue her education at the University of Southern 
Mississippi.
  It was at the University of Southern Mississippi that she met her 
husband, Goodloe Sutton, and they were married in 1964 after Jean had 
graduated and worked for a year as editor of the Tylertown Times in 
Tylertown, MS.
  After moving to Linden, Jean worked as a reporter for the award-
winning Democrat Reporter, the weekly newspaper owned by her husband. 
She also taught girls physical education and journalism at Linden High 
School.

[[Page S12835]]

After teaching at Linden High School for two years, she began working 
full time for the Democrat Reporter where she served as managing 
editor.
  Together, Jean and Goodloe worked as a husband-and-wife reporting 
team. In the 1990s, they successfully exposed corruption and a drug 
ring involving the Marengo County Sheriff's office, amid death threats 
and intense pressure throughout their community. Their investigative 
reporting led to an FBI investigation and the conviction of the 
county's sheriff in 1997.
  Jean also found time to raise a family. She and Goodloe raised two 
exceptional sons. Their son, Howard Goodloe, is a graduate of Auburn 
University and I am pleased to have him as a member of my staff. He has 
served as my State Director since 2000. And, William Robert Sutton 
attends Southern Union Community College.
  Jean Sutton was a good friend, a leader in the Linden community, and 
a role model for investigative journalists. Her tremendous courage, her 
hard work and sacrifices on behalf of her readers, and her dedication 
to her family serve as an example of excellence for every reporter, 
parent and citizen. She will be greatly missed by many.

                          ____________________