[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 30 (Monday, February 25, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN MEMORY OF GEORGE EARL McNEELY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. MIKE ROSS

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 25, 2008

  Mr. ROSS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of George 
Earl McNeely of McGehee, Arkansas, who passed away February 8, 2008, at 
the age of 80.
  I will forever remember George McNeely as a good friend, a devoted 
family man and someone who cared deeply about improving the quality of 
life in his community. As a natural born leader, he was an inspiration 
to all who knew him. After attending high school in McGehee and Tillar, 
he continued his education at the University of Arkansas. Mr. McNeely 
then honorably served his country in the United States Marine Corps 
during World War II.
  After the war, George McNeely returned home to southeast Arkansas to 
pursue his true passion of agriculture. As one of the original founders 
of catfish farming in Arkansas, he was a true business pioneer and his 
contributions to aquaculture helped revolutionize the industry. In his 
spare time, he dearly loved the outdoors and the opportunity to share 
all of the recreational opportunities it offered with his friends and 
family. In addition to catfish farming, he devoted his time and energy 
to numerous other passions that included land clearing, demolition and 
ag-aviation.
  Along with his tremendous leadership in the field of agriculture, 
George McNeely was active in numerous other worthwhile endeavors 
throughout his community. He was a longstanding member of the 
Freemasonry and the Shriner's of North America. Perhaps none of his 
work or involvement as a Shriner was more important than all the time 
he contributed helping disabled and burned children at the Shriner's 
Hospital for Children.
  George McNeely will always be known for his outstanding service to 
our country and his community. Above all, he will sorely be missed as a 
friend. I extend my deepest condolences to his wife, Mary Ann McNeely; 
his sons, David Earl McNeely of McGehee, Arkansas and James Allen 
McNeely of Magnolia, Arkansas; and to his numerous grandchildren, 
great-grandchildren and friends. George McNeely will be greatly missed 
in McGehee, Desha County, and throughout the state of Arkansas, and I 
am truly saddened by this loss.

                          ____________________