[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 120 (Tuesday, August 4, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8757-S8758]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  REMEMBERING JAMES O. ``JIM'' INGRAM

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, this morning I was saddened by the news

[[Page S8758]]

that my friend Jim Ingram, who served so well and courageously as 
commissioner of the Department of Public Safety of Mississippi, had 
passed away. He lost a long battle with cancer.
  Jim was a retired FBI agent who was in charge of the civil rights 
unit that supervised the investigation and assisted in the prosecution 
of crimes by Klansmen and others who were charged with violence and 
murder in our State during the civil rights movement. He was a man of 
great courage, with a strong sense of purpose, whose warm and friendly 
personality make him easy to like and respect. The people of my State 
will long remember and appreciate his valuable contributions to peace 
and public safety.
  I ask unanimous consent that a copy of his obituary, as it appeared 
in today's Clarion-Ledger, be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       James O. ``Jim'' Ingram, retired FBI agent and former 
     Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, passed away 
     at Hospice Ministries in Ridgeland, Mississippi on Sunday, 
     August 2, 2009, after a long battle with cancer.
       Visitation will be held at Christ United Methodist Church 
     in Jackson, Mississippi on Wednesday, August 5, 2009, from 5 
     pm until 7 pm and from 9 am until 10:30 am on Thursday, 
     August 6, 2009. Reverend Vicki Landrum will officiate over 
     the service, which will be held at Christ United Methodist 
     Church on Thursday at 10:30 am. The burial service will 
     follow at Parkway Memorial Cemetery on Highland Colony 
     Parkway in Ridgeland, Mississippi.
       Wright and Ferguson Funeral Home is assisting with the 
     arrangements. Born January 22, 1932, in Henryetta, Oklahoma, 
     Jim Ingram was a long time resident of the Jackson Metro 
     area. Jim Ingram joined the FBI in 1953, and was with the FBI 
     for over thirty (30) years in several capacities, such as 
     Deputy Assistant Director in Washington, with duties 
     supervising all FBI criminal investigations. He also was 
     Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the New York and Chicago FBI 
     offices. Mr. Ingram traveled worldwide for the FBI to places 
     such as France, Canada, Mexico, and most of Central and South 
     America. Some famous FBI cases which he commanded were: The 
     Guyana Jim Jones case where over 1,000 people committed 
     suicide at the request of their leader, Jim Jones, and the 
     investigation into the assassination of Federal Judge John H. 
     Woods in Texas, where a hired assassin killed the federal 
     judge. Drug lords were arrested for this crime.
       Jim Ingram was also in charge of the FBI's Mississippi 
     Civil Rights Unit in the 1960's, supervising the 
     investigation and assisting in the successful prosecution of 
     Edgar Ray Killen and other Klansmen who killed the three 
     civil rights workers in the ``Mississippi Burning Case'' in 
     Neshoba County, Philadelphia, Mississippi. Mr. Ingram also 
     supervised the investigation and assisted in the prosecution 
     of James Ford Seale for violent deaths committed in 
     Mississippi. In June 1996, Mr. Ingram represented Mississippi 
     in a meeting at the White House hosted by the President and 
     Vice President on church burnings.
       After retiring from the FBI, he served ten (10) years as 
     Senior V.P., Director of Security for Deposit Guaranty 
     National Bank. He served as Commissioner of Public Safety for 
     eight years commanding the Mississippi Highway Patrol, 
     Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, and six other divisions. He 
     served the State's second longest tenure in this capacity and 
     said ``these were some of the happiest times of my life.'' He 
     was well known throughout the U.S. in law enforcement 
     receiving several awards such as being honored with the Civil 
     Rights Award in September 2006 in Boston, Massachusetts by 
     the International Association of Chiefs of Police for the 
     solution of the ``Mississippi Burning Case'' and was 
     appointed as a Member by the Harvard University Associates in 
     Police Science. Jim was active in the business community 
     having served as President of the Jackson Rotary Club, the 
     largest civic club in Mississippi.
       Jim Ingram is survived by his loving wife, Marie, of 58 
     years; his three sons, Steven W. Ingram and his wife, Brenda, 
     Madison, Mississippi, Stanley T. Ingram and wife, Terri, 
     Edwards, Mississippi, and James M. Ingram and wife, Janice, 
     Madison, Mississippi, and fifteen (15) grandchildren and 
     great grandchildren, all of whom have given him the love of 
     his life.
       His three sons, Steve, Stan and Jim, stated their dad 
     enjoyed helping others. They have been amazed over the years 
     of the caliber of people across the U.S. that sought his 
     advice and wisdom. Their dad would tell them ``Kindness is 
     something you cannot give away. It always keeps coming 
     back.''
       Before his death, Jim Ingram stated that he could never 
     repay the kindness shown to him, his wife Marie, and family 
     from neighbors, Peter DeBeukelaer and wife, Mireille, Dr. 
     Greg Fiser and wife, Robin, Billy Powell and his wife, 
     Barbara, Rusty Fulton and his wife, Sandy, Bob Lunardini and 
     his wife, Susan, and Federal Judge Neal O'Lack and his wife, 
     Rebecca.
       Mr. Ingram gives special thanks to Dr. Cindy Wright and her 
     husband Sam Wright for their kindness and support. Special 
     thanks to the men and women of the FBI across the country and 
     to former SAC Joe Jackson, Col. Mike Berthay and Charlie 
     Saums and the men and women of the Mississippi Highway Patrol 
     who have made his life so enjoyable.
       Memorials may be made to Christ United Methodist Church 
     Youth Ministry Program, 6000 Old Canton Road, Jackson, 
     Mississippi 39211, or Hospice Ministries of Ridgeland, 450 
     Towne Center Boulevard, Ridgeland, Mississippi 39157.

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