[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 27 (Friday, February 18, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E307]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO REV. SAMUEL R. HARDMAN, SR.

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                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 18, 2011

  Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a patriotic 
American who loved his country and loved the Lord, and dedicated his 
life to the service of both.
  The Rev. Samuel R. Hardman, Sr. passed away on February 10, 2011, at 
the age of 85. A native of Zephyrhills, Florida, he was a lifelong 
resident of Magnolia Springs, Alabama.
  To anyone who knew Father Sam, it was clear he was passionate about 
America. At the young age of 17, as the world was embroiled in the 
Second World War, he eagerly enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He was 
commissioned a bomb disposal officer at age 19 and served in the South 
Pacific as the United States battled the Empire of Japan.
  After the war, he returned home to attend the Episcopal Seminary in 
Sewanee, Tennessee, and was ordained a priest in 1950.
  With one war behind him, many would have chosen the more comfortable 
road of civilian life. Yet, Father Sam elected to take a different 
path. He chose to serve the Lord while at the same time serving his 
country. He returned to the Navy as a Chaplain, taking him to 
battlefronts in Korea and Vietnam. Much of his time in uniform was in 
the service of the U.S. Marine Corps.
  Father Sam retired from the Navy as a Captain in 1975 and moved to 
Magnolia Springs where he served in the Diocese of the Central Gulf 
Coast for the next 32 years.
  Mr. Speaker, Father Sam's uncommon devotion to America and his faith 
make him a very special man. However, he is all the more special to me 
as he presided over the marriage ceremony when my wife, Janee, and I 
were wed on August 15, 1990. We will be forever grateful for his 
spiritual and fatherly role in our lives and in the lives of countless 
others who have been parishioners of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in 
Mobile.
  On behalf of all the people who have been touched by Father Sam's 
life, I wish to extend condolences to his family, including his sons, 
William, and Samuel, Jr.; sisters, Alfea Thomas, and Mary Lee; 9 
grandchildren; 9 great grandchildren, and a host of nieces and nephews 
and other relatives. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.

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