[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 8, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1034]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    IN MEMORY OF RETINELLA ``NELLA'' OCTAVIA ELIZABETH EDGAR CROOKS

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 8, 2010

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
memory of Retinella ``Nella'' Octavia Elizabeth Edgar Crooks, a lady I 
was proud to call my friend and constituent. An accomplished public 
servant and educator, Mrs. Crooks passed away on May 30, 2010, at the 
age of 108.
  Mrs. Crooks lived a very long and full life. She was born in Watt 
Town, Jamaica, on October 1, 1901. She was educated in Jamaica and then 
immigrated to the United States in 1924 where she met her husband, Dr. 
Kenneth B.M. Crooks. The happy couple was blessed with four children, 
twelve grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.
  After ten years at the Hampton Institute, which is now Hampton 
University, Dr. and Mrs. Crooks moved from the United States to Jamaica 
where they worked at Happy Grove, a Quaker secondary school. Mrs. 
Crooks served there as a missionary educator, a member of the Jamaica 
Federation of Women, and as a fundraiser for the Religious Society of 
Friends.
  In 1957, Dr. and Mrs. Crooks returned to the United States and became 
very involved in Georgia's Second Congressional District. Mrs. Crooks 
served as a resident manager at what is now Fort Valley State 
University. While at Fort Valley State University, Mrs. Crooks became 
known for her unparalleled hospitality hosting teas. Of the many 
national and international dignitaries she entertained, she was very 
proud to include Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. among her guests.
  Following a short stay at Fort Valley, Dr. and Mrs. Crooks moved to 
Grambling College in Louisiana. There she completed her Bachelor of 
Arts Degree while serving as a resident manager for the college. 
However, in 1959 her husband, Dr. Crooks, sadly passed away.
  Mrs. Crooks then returned to Fort Valley and earned her Master's 
Degree in counseling at the young age of 64. She was a member of the 
college faculty and published several books, including two books of 
poetry, her travel diary, her husband's biography, and her 
autobiography.
  Throughout her long and blessed life, she remained a very active 
member of the Episcopal Church, a YWCA organizer, and her beloved 
sorority, Delta Sigma Theta. She also worked tirelessly for her 
community, founding a children's reading club and volunteering for 
seniors' organizations.
  Madam Speaker, the State of Georgia, and especially the Second 
Congressional District of Georgia, have been truly blessed to have 
benefited from the tremendous contributions of Nella Edgar Crooks. She 
will be remembered for her compassion, her intense desire to help 
others, her unwavering love for her family, and her dedication to 
education, which lives on through the Nella Crooks Scholarship Fund at 
Fort Valley State University. It is a fitting tribute to her life and 
academic legacy, which was as long in accomplishments as it was in 
years. May she continue to serve as an inspiration to others.

                          ____________________