[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 131 (Tuesday, November 16, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2004-E2005]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO THE LATE MEREDITH DOCKING

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 16, 2004

  Mr. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the late 
Meredith Docking, widow of former Kansas Governor Robert Docking, who 
served as First Lady of Kansas from 1967 to 1975. Meredith Docking 
passed away on October 27th, at her home in Lawrence, Kansas, after a 
valiant struggle with pancreatic cancer. Earlier, she lived in Arkansas 
City, where the Docking family owned Union State Bank.
  Meredith Gear Docking was born July 15, 1926, in Elkhart, Kansas, the 
daughter of George Russell and Irene Griffith Gear. She graduated from 
the University of Kansas in 1947 with a bachelor's degree in business. 
She married Robert Docking on June 17, 1950. His father, George 
Docking, was elected governor of Kansas in 1956 and 1950, ushering into 
Kansas its current era of two-party politics. Robert Docking, the only 
Kansan elected governor of the state four times--in 1966, 1968, 1970 
and 1972--died in 1983. Their son, Tom, served as lieutenant governor 
of Kansas from 1983-1987, under Governor John Carlin. Another son, 
Bill, now serves as a member of the Kansas Board of Regents.
  A woman of grace and dignity, Meredith Docking represented her state 
during the turbulent times of the late 1960s and early 1970s, served 
charitable and civic organizations, and participated in Democratic 
Party political activities with her husband and father-in-law. I 
enclose in the Record as a part of this tribute two articles carried by 
the local press upon Meredith Docking's death, from The Wichita Eagle 
and The Lawrence Journal-World, which summarize her activities and 
impact upon our state. It is fitting that Meredith Docking had named in 
her honor the ``Meredith Rose'', a pink rose that is now found in parks 
and arrangements in Arkansas City, Wichita and Lawrence, Kansas. All 
Kansans mourn her passing, but as her family members have done, we find 
inspiration in her life and legacy.

                [From the Wichita Eagle, Oct. 28, 2004]

          Meredith Docking, Former First Lady of Kansas, Dies

                           (By Beccy Tanner)

       Meredith Docking--the first lady of Kansas from 1967 
     through 1975 and for whom a pink rose is named--died 
     Wednesday at her home in Lawrence. She was 78.
       Mrs. Docking was the wife of Robert Docking and the 
     daughter-in-law to George Docking, both Kansas governors. Her 
     son, Tom, was lieutenant governor. ``From my perspective, she 
     was a great mother, very supportive of the family and tried 
     to help each family member do what was important to them,'' 
     said William Docking of Arkansas City. ``But personally, she 
     didn't care much for politics. She recognized how important 
     the political process is and was for so many of our family 
     members--but she was a private person and did not care for 
     politics.''
       Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the First Christian 
     Church in Lawrence.
       Meredith Gear was born July 15, 1926, in Elkhart. She 
     received her bachelor's degree in business from the 
     University of Kansas in 1947. Her husband, Robert, graduated 
     from KU in 1948. They married in 1950 and lived in Arkansas 
     City, where he was president of Union State Bank. Robert 
     Docking also served Arkansas City as a city commissioner and 
     mayor until 1966, when he was elected governor. ``She fit 
     nicely in the mold of first ladies of that era--who were more 
     traditional,'' said her son, Tom Docking of Wichita.
       Mrs. Docking was first lady of Kansas at a time when 
     national politics and world events were volatile--the United 
     States was caught up in the Vietnam War, university students 
     throughout the nation were holding protests, and race riots 
     were breaking out in major cities.
       Mrs. Docking's role as first lady was to entertain 
     dignitaries and conduct tours of the governor's mansion. When 
     Bobby and Ethel Kennedy came to Kansas, they stayed with the 
     Dockings.
       After her husband's four terms as governor, Mrs. Docking 
     helped establish the Docking Faculty Scholar Program at KU. 
     She also served on several boards throughout the state. Her 
     husband died in 1983. In January, Mrs. Docking learned that 
     she had pancreatic cancer. ``My mother always believed that 
     if you had 75 good years you ought to consider yourself 
     fortunate,'' Bill Docking said. ``She was 77 when she was 
     diagnosed and died when she was 78. There was no hand-
     wringing or asking `Why me?' She was not fearful of death in 
     any way.''
       April 30 of this year was designated ``Meredith Docking 
     Day'' and Arbor Day in Arkansas City. The cities of Lawrence, 
     Wichita and Arkansas City have planted hundreds of pink 
     ``Meredith'' roses named in her honor.
       She is survived by her sons, William, Arkansas City, and 
     Tom, Wichita; a sister, Virginia Winslow, Bradbury, Calif.; 
     and three grandchildren.

            [From the Lawrence Journal-World, Oct. 28, 2004]

                     Former First Lady Docking Dies

                             (By Mike Belt)

       Former first lady of Kansas and longtime Kansas University 
     benefactor Meredith Docking died Wednesday at her home in 
     Lawrence. ``She was a wonderful mother and grandmother, and 
     she had great relationships with so many friends,'' said her 
     son, Bill Docking. ``She lived an interesting life.''
       Meredith Docking, 78, the wife of the late governor Robert 
     Docking, died a few minutes after 6 a.m. with her family 
     around her. Bill Docking said she had been diagnosed last 
     winter with terminal pancreatic cancer. ``Throughout her 
     illness she was so brave,'' said close friend Kittye Hagen, 
     of Lawrence. ``She was a great wit and a lot of fun.''
       Robert Docking served as governor from 1967 to 1975. But 
     while the family lived in the governor's Cedar Crest mansion 
     in Topeka, Meredith never lost her simple ways, Hagen said. 
     ``She was one of the first ladies who didn't go over her 
     budget,'' Hagen said. ``She was very thrifty. She was as 
     thrifty with the state's money as she was with her own.''
       At the same time, Meredith Docking often donated money to 
     worthy causes anonymously, Hagen said. ``She did a lot of 
     things people, including her family, didn't know about,'' 
     Hagen said. ``She never failed to do what she could to 
     help.''
       Meredith Docking was a longtime supporter of KU, a member 
     of the KU Alumni Association and the Outlook Society, which 
     honors donors of $500,000 or more through the Chancellor's 
     Club, KU Endowment's major-donor organization.
       In 1999, she donated $1 million to KU to create the Docking 
     Faculty Scholars Award to honor and keep exceptional KU 
     teachers and scholars. ``Meredith Docking's gifts to the 
     university, as a volunteer, a donor and an inspiration, were 
     felt throughout the campus,'' KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway 
     said.
       She graduated in 1947 from KU, where she met her husband, 
     the future governor who graduated in 1948. Gov. Kathleen 
     Sebelius noted Meredith Docking's civic contributions and 
     ``quiet strength.'' ``For eight years Meredith Docking 
     represented Kansas with grace, dignity and warmth as our 
     first lady,'' Sebelius said. ``After leaving Cedar Crest, she 
     maintained a respected presence throughout the state and was 
     always a great booster of the state of Kansas.''
       Meredith Docking was well-known for her fondness for roses 
     and was involved in beautification efforts in Arkansas City 
     and in Lawrence, where she had lived. For her 75th birthday 
     her family commissioned a California company to create a rose 
     in her honor, Bill Docking said. They named it the Meredith 
     Rose, and many of them can be found in Arkansas City parks 
     and in Wichita. In Lawrence the Meredith Rose is in front of 
     the Lawrence Visitor Center, 402 N. Second St., and in the 
     Audio-Reader Garden next to the Behr Audio-Reader Center at 
     KU. ``It's really a lovely pink rose and very fragrant,'' 
     Bill Docking said.
       Meredith Docking loved watching the TV show ``Jeopardy,'' 
     which once featured a question about the Kansas governor, and 
     host Art Fleming mentioned that the governor's wife was a big 
     fan of the show, Bill

[[Page E2005]]

     Docking said. Fleming signed the card with the question on it 
     and sent it to the Dockings. Margaret Gilliland, of Arkansas 
     City, and Meredith Docking were Chi Omega sorority sisters at 
     KU in the 1940s. ``She absolutely loved to play bridge,'' 
     Gilliland said. ``And as long as Bob was alive, she was 
     definitely a Democrat.''
       Former Arkansas City state Rep. Jack Shriver joked that 
     Meredith Docking kept her husband in line. ``The whole time 
     she was in politics, I don't think she made a single enemy, 
     and that's saying a lot,'' Shriver said.
       Kansas Democratic Party Chairman Larry Gates called her 
     death a big loss to the state. ``She was really one of the 
     few left from that era,'' Gates said. ``We are losing some 
     really wonderful, colorful people.''
       Meredith Docking, however, didn't enjoy the limelight of 
     politics, Bill Docking said. ``She knew how important it was 
     for several members of the family, and she was always 
     supportive of their efforts, as she was supportive to all of 
     her family,'' he said.
       Memorial services for Meredith Docking will be 10 a.m. 
     Friday at First Christian Church.

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