[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 14 (Tuesday, January 29, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E108]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING THE MEMORY OF JOHN WATKINS JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 29, 2008

  Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, the city of Atmore and the state of 
Alabama recently lost a dedicated community leader, and I rise today to 
honor Mr. John Watkins Jr. and pay tribute to his memory.
  After graduating from the Escambia County Training School, Mr. 
Watkins continued his studies at Faulkner State College in Bay Minette, 
Alabama, and received an associate's degree in applied science.
  A World War II veteran, John served in the United States Army on the 
Marianas Islands in Guam. Following his service in the Army, he spent 
31 years at Monsanto/Solutia Textile and Chemical Plant in Pensacola 
where he served as a cook, cafeteria foreman and a main plant foreman.
  In 1992, John was elected to the Atmore City Council. As the 
councilman for District 3, he was influential in securing various 
grants for housing rehabilitation, paving streets and demolishing 
condemned houses throughout the community. He served as chairman of 
both the Atmore Planning Board and the Escambia County Quality 
Assurance Committee for 12 years. In 1996, he was named the mayor pro-
tempore of Atmore.
  In addition to his work as an elected member of the Atmore City 
Council, John was a member of the Atmore Lions Club and served as its 
president from 2000-2001. He was also a member of Gaines Chapel AME 
Church in Atmore and served as a chairman of the trustee board for over 
eight years.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering a 
dedicated community leader, a friend to many throughout Alabama, as 
well as a wonderful husband and devoted father. John Watkins will be 
dearly missed by his family--his wife of 55 years, Veola Watkins; their 
children, Brenda Jackson, John Watkins III, and Roderick Lynn Watkins; 
his sisters, Bessie Brock, Carrie Millender, Ella Quaker, Ethel 
Spaulding; his 10 grandchildren; and his one great-grandchild--as well 
as the many countless friends he leaves behind. Our thoughts and 
prayers are with them all during this difficult time.

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