[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 93 (Friday, June 19, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1507-E1508]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING THE MEMORY OF SHERIFF EDWARD JACKSON ``JACK'' DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 19, 2009

  Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, Thomasville and indeed all of Clarke 
County recently lost a dear friend, and I rise today to honor him and 
pay tribute to his memory.
  Edward Jackson Day, known to his friends and family as ``Jack,'' 
served the people of Clarke County as a law enforcement officer for 
nearly four decades--as a sheriff's deputy, chief deputy, and 
eventually as sheriff of Clarke County. He devoted his 71 years to his 
family, his faith, and to keeping the residents of Thomasville and 
surrounding communities safe.
  Jack began his law enforcement career as an auxiliary state trooper 
in 1967, and was promoted to a full-time deputy three years later. In 
1978, he became chief deputy under Sheriff Roy Sheffield. When Sheriff 
Sheffield retired in 1993, Jack was appointed sheriff of Clarke County 
and served in that capacity until his retirement in January of 2007. He 
was a past president of the Alabama Sheriff's Association and a member 
of the National Sheriff's Association, the Fraternal Order of Police 
and the Democratic Executive Committee. In addition, Sheriff Day was an 
avid hunter and a member of Oliver Lodge No. 334 F&AM.
  Sheriff Day was also an active member of his church, Pineview Baptist 
Church, where he served as a deacon. He served on the board of the 
Southwest Alabama Children's Advocacy Center, as well as the advisory 
boards of the Department of Youth Services and Life Tech community. He 
was also a former board member and chairman of the Boys and Girls Club.
  As he prepared to retire as sheriff, Jack noted, ``You learn to take 
the bad times with the good times. We've had some tragedies, but we've 
had a lot more good times and I'm glad for that. You always remember 
you're there to protect and serve the people.''
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering a 
dedicated community leader, a friend to many throughout south Alabama, 
as well as a wonderful husband, loving father, grandfather, and great-
grandfather. Jack Day will be dearly missed by his family--his wife, 
Wilma Gates Day; his son, Mayor Sheldon Allison Day; his daughter, 
Daphne Elaine Day; his two sisters, Mary Ellen Day Parten and Jerry Ann 
Day Little; his five grandchildren, Jeffrey Devin Deas, Brittney Elaine 
Deas, Leslie Allison Dellinger, and Kaitlin Elizabeth Day and Thomas 
Zachary Day; and his three great-grandchildren, Carrigan Elizabeth Day, 
and Malya Elizabeth Deas and Devin Baine Deas--as well as the countless 
friends he leaves behind.
  Our thoughts and prayers are with them all during this difficult 
time.

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