[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 130 (Wednesday, September 5, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1797]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING JAMES VASSAL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DALE E. KILDEE

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 5, 2007

  Mr. KILDEE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to James 
Vassal in honor of his 100th birthday. A celebration was held at United 
Bethel Methodist Church on his birthday in my hometown of Flint, 
Michigan.
  James Vassal was born on August 18, 1907, in Amory, MS, the middle of 
5 children. He worked for Frisco Railroad in Memphis for 25 years. 
During these years he met President Franklin D. Roosevelt twice. In 
1945 he moved to Flint and went to work at the Chevrolet V-8 Engine 
Plant in Flint for 26\1/2\ years. He retired in 1971 and is a member of 
UAW Local 659.
  He is a devoted member of United Bethel Methodist Church. He started 
attending services in 1946 in the basement of its future church on 12th 
Street. He worked as an usher and sang in the church gospel choir. 
James credits his grandfather for providing the foundation for his 
future devotion to United Bethel Methodist Church. He attends the 11 
a.m. worship services every Sunday and is still a member of United 
Methodist Men and the Bible Study Group. In June, William Kornegay 
presented him with a certificate from the United Methodist Men's 
national office recognizing Vassal's ``outstanding achievement'' in the 
church. He was honored by the church's senior adult ministry at a 
luncheon on August 16. On his birthday, a dinner was held in his honor 
and attended by over 200 people. Many of James's relatives from 
Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas, Indiana, and Kentucky traveled to 
Michigan to join in the celebration. Sunday's worship centered on his 
contributions and featured remarks by Reverend Russell, McReynolds, 
Reverend Alonzo Vincent, Reverend Tara Sutton, and James's great-great 
grandnephews and nieces.
  James married Mae Berta Carter on July 16, 1927. They had one son, 
Charles, and one granddaughter, Reverend Delphine Vassal, an African 
Methodist Episcopal minister in Dallas. Devoted to each other until the 
end, James was by Mae's side when she passed away in 1996.
  Madam Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in 
congratulating James Vassal and wishing him the best for the coming 
year.

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