[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 101 (Thursday, June 21, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H6833]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
                            JOHN EDWARD DEAN

  (Mr. GOHMERT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of John Edward Dean's 
90th birthday. John Edward Dean was born June 18, 1917 in Upshur 
County, Texas. He grew up in my district, in the town of Gilmer, where 
he attended Gilmer public schools and graduated from Gilmer High School 
in 1937. Mr. Dean would often ride horseback to school, and by the age 
of 15, he was hauling cattle to the Fort Worth stockyards to help 
provide for his younger siblings.
  In 1945 he purchased Snider's sawmill in Gilmer, where the company 
will turn 70 next year.
  John Dean is an American patriot, a servant who so many of us in east 
Texas have come to respect. He never missed a day of work or church due 
to an illness, and was never even hospitalized until age 70.
  John and the love of his life, the late Jane Holmes, have 3 children, 
7 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren, and has given generously to the 
Gilmer community. His lumber company is one of Gilmer's largest 
employers, and was a pioneer in diversity.
  He serves as a deacon at First Baptist Church of Gilmer, is a 20-year 
member of the East Texas Baptist University Board of Trustees in 
Marshall.
  I stand here today to wish John Edward Dean a happy birthday, Mr. 
Speaker, and to pray that God may continue to bless him and his family 
for being such a blessing to so many others.

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