[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 10, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                PAYING TRIBUTE TO ERIC AND GRACE CROSS-

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                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 10, 2004

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, it is with a sad heart that I rise to pay 
tribute to the passing of two great people from my district. Eric and 
Grace Cross, who spent the last 32 years of their life in Alamosa, 
Colorado, recently passed away at the ages of 76 and 74. The Crosses 
dedicated their lives to public service and to the challenging fields 
of teaching and missionary work. I am honored today to bring their 
contributions to the attention of this body of Congress and this 
nation.
  Eric and Grace met as teenagers at the Briercrest Bible Institute, 
and after their marriage in 1949, moved to Ecuador for four years to 
work as missionaries. They served an additional six years as 
missionaries in Del Rio, Texas before moving to Alamosa. Eric later 
earned a Bachelor's Degree in special education from Adams State 
College and the two of them continued to minister to the migrants who 
worked the fields of the San Luis Valley.
  In 1966, after a move to Palisade, Colorado, Eric became a teacher, 
and later principal, at the Regional Center, where Grace also worked as 
a technician and later a dorm a supervisor. At night, Eric earned his 
Masters degree in special education at Western State College. In what 
little spare time Eric had left he served as an interim minister in 
churches throughout western Colorado and eastern Utah. When Eric and 
Grace retired, they continued to serve the Alamosa community, 
coordinating the soup kitchen and help desk for the Palisade Migrant 
Center.
  Mr. Speaker, Eric and Grace were dedicated people that selflessly 
served their community and country and I am honored to pay tribute to 
them here today. Their lifetime of service is an incredible model for 
all Americans and my thoughts and prayers go out to their families 
during this difficult time of bereavement.

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