[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 130 (Monday, October 11, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1870]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IN TRIBUTE TO CHARLES R. ADAMS, JR.
______
HON. JIM MARSHALL
of georgia
in the house of representatives
Thursday, October 7, 2004
Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a man who
for half a century has served the people of my State and District in
the noble calling of the law. On October 11, 2004, my good friend
Charles R. Adams, Jr. will mark his golden anniversary as an active
member of the Georgia Bar.
Charlie Adams was born in Fitzgerald, GA, in 1932, the descendent of
several prominent families in Middle Georgia. In 1946, Charlie, 13 at
the time, served as a page in the Eighty-Seventh Congress.
Valedictorian of the Fitzgerald High School Class of '49, Charlie
continued his distinguished academic and leadership record at the
University of Georgia, achieving membership in the Phi Beta Kappa
honorary fraternity, in the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and served as
President of UGA's Interfraternity Council. While at UGA, Charlie met
and married the lovely Margaret Leah Twitty of Camilla, Ga. She and
Charlie had two children, Charles R. Adams III and Mary Elisabeth Adams
(Mrs. Howard) Johnson. Charles lost Leah to cancer in 1983. His son is
following in his father's footsteps; it was my privilege to teach
Charles Adams III at Mercer Law School.
Mr. Speaker, Charlie Adams was admitted to the UGA School of Law in
1953 and successfully took the bar exam in the summer of 1954. He was
formally admitted as a member of the Georgia bar on Oct. 11, 1954, in
the Superior Court of Ben Hill County, Georgia, Hon. O. Wendell Horne,
Jr., presiding. In 1955, Charlie was awarded the LL.B. degree from
Georgia Law School. He was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the
U.S. Army and served as an attorney in the Judge Advocate General's
Office, including a brief tour of duty in the Pentagon. After his
military service, Charlie served for two years as a staff attorney to
the Hon. Jule W. Felton, Sr., Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of
Appeals. He entered private practice with the Atlanta firm of Crenshaw,
Hansell, Ware, Brandon & Dorsey.
In 1962, Charlie heeded the call to return to his roots in middle
Georgia and relocated his family to Fort Valley. When his district's
Congressional seat came open in 1964, Charlie made a laudable bid to
win the Democratic primary. He has been a life long member of the
Democratic Party and has served as a member and officer of the Peach
County Democratic Executive Committee since 1966.
Mr. Speaker, in this day when so many view the legal profession with
cynical suspicion, Charlie Adams manifests the most noble ideals of
his, and my, profession. He has always been available for public
service. For many years, he took more than his share of indigent
criminal defense and other pro bono publico cases. He represented the
City of Fort Valley for 29 years, the Fort Valley Utility Commission
for 35 years, as well as Peach County, the Peach County Board of
Education, and many other local government entities. In the 1970's, he
was also attorney on a statewide basis for the Georgia Electric Cities
Association. Charlie has been active in his community in other ways,
including the Boy Scouts, the Kiwanis Club, the Chamber of Commerce,
the United Way, and the Methodist Church. For 50 years, he has lived
out the finest aspects of a true professional. I am proud to claim
Charles R. Adams, Jr., as a constituent and friend, and I hope that
everyone will join me in wishing him many more happy and productive
years to come.
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