[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 27, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1655]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN LASTING MEMORY OF JACKSON T. STEPHENS

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                             HON. MIKE ROSS

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 27, 2005

  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of a 
charitable and respected Arkansan, Jackson T. Stephens. Mr. Stephens 
passed away on July 23, 2005 at the age of 81. He was a businessman and 
philanthropist who lived an exemplary life of tremendous 
accomplishments and I wish to recognize his life and achievements.
  Born in Grant County on August 9, 1923, Mr. Stephens grew up on a 
farm near Prattsville, Arkansas, the youngest of six children. A child 
of the Great Depression and humble beginnings, Mr. Stephens learned the 
importance of hard work and how to earn his keep. Prior to attending 
college, Mr. Stephens joined his father on the family farm, and by the 
age of fifteen, held numerous jobs at the Barlow Hotel in Hope. Upon 
graduation from high school, Mr. Stephens attended the University of 
Arkansas in Fayetteville and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 
1946.
  After graduation from the naval academy, Mr. Stephens joined his 
brother, Witt, in Little Rock at a municipal bond house. By 1956, Mr. 
Stephens and his brother bought the Fort Smith Gas Company, calling it 
Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Company, and an oil and gas exploration firm, 
renaming it the Stephens Production Company. Stephens, Inc. became the 
umbrella organization for the businesses, and later Stephens Media 
Group. Mr. Stephens served as Chief Executive Officer of Stephens, Inc. 
for 29 years, until 1986.
  In addition to becoming one of the world's most successful 
entrepreneurs, Mr. Stephens was extraordinarily charitable. In 2002, he 
donated $48 million dollars to the University of Arkansas for Medical 
Sciences, the largest donation the University of Arkansas has ever 
seen. Mr. Stephens also gave $20 million to the Episcopal Collegiate 
School, $20.4 million to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, $5 
million to Harding University, and $10 million to his alma mater, the 
U.S. Naval Academy. Mr. Stephens once said, ``There are only two 
pleasures associated with money. Making it and giving it away.'' For 20 
years, Mr. Stephens was the primary contributor for The Delta Project, 
a program aimed at educating underprivileged children in the Arkansas 
Delta. Mr. Stephen's immense generosity did not end with education. Mr. 
Stephens was also a remarkable supporter of the arts, and permanently 
donated to the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock his personal 
collection of artwork that include the likes of Degas, Monet, Picasso 
and Wyeth.
  Mr. Stephens also had a tremendous love for golf as evidenced by his 
enviable handicap of five. He was invited to join the prestigious 
Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia in 1962, and served as the 
chairman of the institution from 1991-1998.
  Mr. Stephens's contributions to his community and the state of 
Arkansas did not go unnoticed. In 1965, Mr. Stephens was honored with 
the Distinguished Alumnus Citation from the University of Arkansas and 
in 1985, was bestowed an honorary law degree by the University. He 
received the Horatio Alger Award in 1980 and the J. William Fulbright 
Award for international trade development in 1989. Mr. Stephens was not 
only a proud member of the Arkansas State Golf Hall of Fame, but also 
the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame and the Arkansas Sports Hall of 
Fame.
  From a Grant County farm boy raised during the depression, Mr. 
Stephens turned a small business acquisition into a global enterprise. 
Mr. Stephens will not only be remembered for his savvy business 
entrepreneurial skills, but also for his tremendous generosity to 
underprivileged children, education, and a tremendous appreciation of 
the arts.
  I extend my deepest and sincerest sympathies to Mr. Stephens's wife, 
Harriet, their sons, Steve and Warren, their six grandchildren, 
Caroline, Jackson, Mason, Miles, John, and Laura; two great 
grandchildren, Sydney and Bruce; and two adopted children, Kerry 
LaNoche and James.

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