[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 71 (Wednesday, May 25, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H4054-H4055]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         THE LIFE OF ROSE WING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to honor the life and 
career of Marietta teacher Rose Lee Wing, who passed away on April 30. 
She will be deeply missed by a grateful community and scores of former 
students who were fortunate enough to call her teacher.
  Mr. Speaker, I want you to focus your attention not on my words so 
much, but on this portrait of this beautiful, beautiful person.
  Born the youngest of seven children in Kingston, North Carolina, Rose 
graduated from Meredith College. After completing a master's degree in 
education at Temple University, she moved to Marietta, Georgia in 1938.
  She married Steve Mosher Wing and was blessed with two children: 
Rose, an attorney, and Steve, Jr., a physician, my friend at the 
Medical College of Georgia. She was later blessed with

[[Page H4055]]

two grandchildren, Jennifer Wing and Molly Wing Kintz.
  Mrs. Wing taught in the Marietta School System for 47 years, 
instructing students at Waterman Street Elementary, Marietta High 
School, Westside Elementary School, and Hickory Hills Elementary 
School. She taught social studies and organized the annual school 
social science fair.
  When she finally retired in 1987, she had touched the lives of 
hundreds of students. My daughter, Phyllis, was lucky enough to be 
among those students. In fact, I remember how hard Phyllis worked on 
her social science project, ``The History of Kenneth Stone Hospital,'' 
for Mrs. Wing's class.
  Mrs. Wing expected hard work from all of her students. Former pupils 
will tell you how she insisted that they recite all 50 States and 
capitals in front of the class. You see, Mrs. Wing did not just teach 
the facts; she wanted her students to learn how to stand up and be 
outspoken.
  Rose Wing organized her classroom to make everyone feel included. She 
did not stand in front of the class and lecture, but instead she taught 
from the center of the room with the desks surrounding her. It was 
these smaller decisions that truly showed Mrs. Wing's dedication to 
helping students learn.
  The brilliance of her teaching method was that it provided students 
with the opportunity to participate, while at the same time teaching 
discipline and respect.
  After teaching four generations of children, Rose Wing always had a 
plethora of stories to share, many memories, and memorable students.
  Her students included Georgia State Representative Steve Tumlin; 
former State Representative Fred Bentley; Actress Joanne Woodward, the 
wife of Paul Newman; former State Representative Jack Vaughn; and 
former Marietta mayor, Ansley Meaders, sat in her classroom to learn.
  Mrs. Wing loved seeing her former students, hearing about their lives 
and seeing how they developed. She often said that there was no more 
rewarding experience than teaching because teachers have the ability to 
directly affect a community.

                              {time}  2115

  She enjoyed seeing her students grow up to become community leaders. 
She felt appreciated in the process.
  On the day she retired in 1987, Mrs. Wing was welcomed to school by 
rows of her students holding red roses in the form of an arc. As she 
walked through, the students cheered.
  Even after retirement, Rose Wing kept on giving. She became a 
community volunteer. In fact, she was the first volunteer at the 
Marietta Welcome Center. Rose Wing was a fixture not only in our 
schools but in our community.
  Mr. Speaker, Rose Wing will be missed, but not forgotten. Her legacy 
lives on in the Marietta school system with the Rose Wing Award for 
Tenure; and without question, Rose Wing's memory lives on in the 
students she taught, who continue to strengthen the Marietta community 
through leadership and involvement, and in the appreciative parents of 
those students.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join me in honoring the memory of a great 
teacher and a great lady.

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