[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 107 (Friday, September 10, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO MARY GRACE RAMEY

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                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 9, 2004

  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, on July 23, 2004, McMinn County, Tennessee 
lost one of its sports legends. Mary Grace Ramey served as a teacher 
and cheerleading coach for McMinn Central High School since it opened 
in 1966. She was 73 years old.
  Mrs. Ramey touched the lives of hundreds of cheerleaders and 
thousands of students who passed through the halls of McMinn Central 
High School. Her colleagues said she was always positive and cared 
deeply about her students.
  Mrs. Ramey, a mother of one and grandmother of three, will be missed 
by all those who knew her.
  I would like to call this Daily Post-Athenian article from July 26, 
2004, on Mary Ramey to the attention of my colleagues and other readers 
of the Record.

             [From the Daily Post-Athenian, July 26, 2004]

          Ramey Loss Leaves Hole in the Central Family Fabric

                           (By Jack Slayton)

       She never hit a home run, sank a clutch basket, or scored a 
     touchdown, but McMinn County was stunned by the loss of a 
     sports legend in her own right this past Friday.
       Teacher and cheerleading sponsor Mary Grace Ramey passed 
     away at Chattanooga's Erlanger Medical Center on Friday.
       Ramey, who taught Family and Consumer Sciences, was 
     discovered behind the school on Friday, July 16, by two 
     students where she had either accidentally fallen or suffered 
     a seizure and struck her head, suffering a concussion.
       Ramey (age 73) had shown some improvement and had been 
     moved from the intensive care unit to a private room before 
     her sudden passing Friday.
       ``Mary Grace,'' as I had known her over the past 30 years, 
     had been a teacher for more than half a century and the 
     cheerleadering sponsor at Central High School since the doors 
     opened in the 1996-97 school year.
       ``It's a sad day at Central High School,'' said Principal 
     Roger Freeman of the last remaining member of the original 
     staff at the school. ``She was a legend--an icon of what 
     everybody should aspire to be as both a person and a teacher. 
     She was dedicated to her profession and students, always 
     prepared and way ahead of the game.''
       Ramey touched the lives of hundreds of cheerleaders and 
     countless thousands of students who passed through her 
     classroom over the past 51 years.
       ``I don't know of anyone who didn't like Mary Grace--she 
     was always so positive and cared deeply about her students,'' 
     Freeman said. ``It will be difficult, no impossible, to 
     replace her. People like Mary Grace are rare.''
       Rare, indeed. In a day and time where most people can't 
     wait to call it quits, Mary Grace never discussed retirement, 
     despite being well beyond the required age and with her 
     lengthy years of service.
       She had returned earlier in the week from a stay in 
     Knoxville where her latest batch of cheerleaders had attended 
     a camp at the University of Tennessee.
       She loved what she did and continued to serve the students 
     of Central with a level of excellence and commitment equally 
     rare today.
       I would more often as not run into Mary Grace and husband, 
     Jack, who recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, 
     going into games at Central or on the road--it seemed we 
     always arrived at about the same time.
       She always had a smile and chipper attitude as we exchanged 
     pleasantries walking into the gym or stadium together.
       I recall one time several years ago at a basketball game, 
     with the skies threatening, Mary Grace asked me if I thought 
     it was going to snow.
       ``Not a chance,'' I said.
       Of course, it did and we faced a slippery ride home that 
     night. She never let me forget it.
       From that time on, regardless of the conditions, Mary Grace 
     would look at me with that wry smile of hers and asked me if 
     I thought it was going to snow.
       The family will receive friends from 5-8 p.m. tonight and 
     funeral services will follow with Bordwine Funeral Home in 
     charge of arrangements (see Page 2 for complete obituary 
     information).
       Friends and family will gather at Sunrise Cemetery in 
     Englewood at 11 a.m. Tuesday for the burial service.
       And no, Mary Grace, I don't think it will snow.

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