[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 56 (Thursday, April 2, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E853]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING THE MEMORY OF THE MRS. ABBIE POWE SESSIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 2, 2009

  Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, Monroe County--and the entire State of 
Alabama--recently lost a dear friend, and I rise today to honor Mrs. 
Abbie Powe Sessions and pay tribute to her memory.
  A native of Branch in Choctaw County, ``Miss Abbie'' had been a 
resident of Hybart in Monroe County for most of her adult life. She 
graduated from high school in Silas and studied at both Livingston 
State Teachers College and Troy State Teachers College. A few years 
ago, she moved into a retirement community in Mobile so she could be 
closer to her family.
  ``Miss Abbie'' was truly a steel magnolia. She was strong in her 
faith, devoted to her family and friends and a constant source of 
inspiration to all who knew and loved her. She was a homemaker and 
actively assisted her late husband, Jefferson B. Sessions Jr., in his 
country store and farm equipment business. Their only son, Senator Jeff 
Sessions, credits her hard work and frugality with instilling in him 
the value of a dollar and the importance of hard work.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering a friend 
to many throughout south Alabama. Mrs. Abbie Powe Sessions will be 
dearly missed by her family--her son, Senator Jeff Sessions and his 
wife Mary; her three grandchildren, Mary Abigail Sessions Reinhardt, 
Ruth Blackshear Sessions Walk, and Samuel Turner Sessions; her great 
granddaughter, Jane Ritchie Reinhardt; her sister, Mary P. Powe; and 
her nephew, Harry A. Powe III--as well as the countless friends she 
leaves behind.
  Our thoughts and prayers are with them all during this difficult 
time.

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