[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 30 (Wednesday, March 2, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1115-S1116]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING KATE IRELAND

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the life, legacy 
and extraordinary accomplishments of Ms. Kate Ireland, who passed away 
peacefully at her home at Foshalee Plantation in northern Florida on 
February 15, 2011. She was 80. Kate was a prime example of a woman who 
gave back to

[[Page S1116]]

her community through her passion for public service, conservation 
efforts, and volunteerism. Her tenacious spirit and determination made 
her one of the most inspiring and hardworking people I have ever had 
the privilege of knowing, and I am honored to have called her my 
friend.
  Coming from a successful family with a rich tradition of philanthropy 
and public service, Kate's interest in volunteerism and conservation 
began at an early age. Her parents, the late Robert and Margaret 
Ireland, were also avid philanthropists and conservationists who taught 
Kate to admire and appreciate the beauty of life around her. It was 
this sense of appreciation that inspired her to hold a lifelong 
dedication to philanthropy of the arts, education, and health care.
  After graduating from St. Timothy's in Baltimore and attending Vassar 
College for a year, Kate realized that she had another calling in life 
to fulfill. So, 20-year-old Kate packed her bags and moved to the 
Commonwealth to volunteer at the Frontier School of Midwifery and 
Family Nursing, a nursing service to the underserved families of the 
remote regions around the southeastern Kentucky town of Hyden. 
Continuing the work of her grandmother and sister, who also volunteered 
there, Kate served as a courier by looking after the horses and jeeps 
used by the nurse midwives, tending to the milk cows and pigs that were 
kept by Frontier, and packing supplies for the nurses for their rounds.
  Even early on, Kate's fearless leadership was recognized by her 
Frontier mentors, as many people looked to her to make sure things got 
done and done correctly. This ``dogged determination,'' as many who 
knew her described it, is what moved her to volunteer for the position 
of director of volunteers for 14 years. Kate's no-nonsense, 
professional demeanor eventually led her to collect numerous other 
titles, such as chairman of the Development Committee, vice chairman of 
the board, and ultimately the title of national chairman of the Board 
of Governors in 1975, a position she held for 17 years. Respectfully, 
Kate remains the board's honorary chairman.
  Although Kate was an avid traveler with residences in Georgia, Maine 
and Florida, she remained a guiding force in the Commonwealth for 
advancements in education and health care for nearly six decades. Kate 
lent her expertise, advice, hard work and financial support to FNS as 
well as Hyden Citizens Bank, the Kentucky River Area Development 
District in which she was chairman, and Berea College, where she was 
also chairman and trustee.
  Kate once said that going to Kentucky had always been in the cards 
for her. Well, she couldn't have been more right. Because of her 
generosity and dedication, countless Kentuckians have benefited from 
education and training programs that she loyally supported and 
established, such as the Community-Based Nurse-Midwifery Education 
Program, The Mary Breckinridge Chair to support the faculty of 
Frontier, and the Kate Ireland and Kitty Ernst Scholarships which are 
awarded to students annually. She was an upstanding woman who dedicated 
most of her life to serving others. Her impressive accomplishments and 
pleasant manner left a wide-reaching legacy that forever changed her 
community, and there is no doubt that the Commonwealth is poorer for 
her loss. My thoughts go out to her sister, Louise; her dear friend 
Anne Cundle; and many other friends and family. The Leslie County News 
recently published an article about Kate and the legacy she left 
behind. I ask unanimous consent that the full article be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

 A Lifetime Supporter of Frontier, Kate Ireland Leaves a Lasting Legacy

       Miss Kate Ireland, a lifelong philanthropist and a guiding 
     force of the Frontier Nursing Service, passed away on Feb. 
     15, 2011, at her home in northern Florida. Miss Ireland 
     devoted her life to public service, and her wide-reaching 
     legacy includes her work on behalf of the Frontier Nursing 
     Service and the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family 
     Nursing in Hyden.
       Miss Ireland was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1930 into a 
     family with a tradition of supporting the vision of Mary 
     Breckinridge. Her grandmother was a donor from the beginning 
     of the City Committees established to support the 
     demonstration of Frontier's nursing service to the 
     underserved families living in the remote regions of 
     Southeastern Kentucky. Her mother was Chairman of the 
     Cleveland Committee. Kate's sister served as a courier in 
     1938.
       Miss Ireland served as courier during the summers of 1951-
     1954 and as a part-time courier from 1959-1960. In her role 
     as a courier, Kate looked after the horses and jeeps used by 
     the FNS nurse-midwives. She also tended to milk cows and pigs 
     kept by FNS and packed supplies for the nurses for their 
     rounds. Mrs. Breckinridge recognized Kate as a leader, and 
     many people looked to her to get things done. She volunteered 
     as Director of Volunteers for FNS from 1961-1975. For nearly 
     six decades, Miss Ireland lent her expertise, advice, hard 
     work and financial support to help FNS provide healthcare in 
     Leslie County and educate nurse-midwives and nurse 
     practitioners across the globe. In Miss Ireland's biography 
     by David Treadwell, ``Full Speed Ahead: with a Twinkle in Her 
     Eye,'' Kate says of her calling to Frontier that ``going to 
     Kentucky had always been in the cards for me.''
       She was well-known in the Leslie County community. Miss 
     Ireland, a prominent member of Cleveland society, felt 
     passionately about her work in Leslie County. Upon returning 
     there in the early '60s, Miss Ireland built a beautiful home 
     called Willow Bend overlooking Hurricane Creek and the Middle 
     Fork. Although a world traveler with residences in Georgia 
     and Maine, while serving the people of Leslie County, Miss 
     Ireland primarily resided at her home in the community of 
     Wendover with her lifelong friend and companion, Anne Cundle, 
     a former FNS nurse-midwife.
       While living in Kentucky, Miss Ireland became involved in 
     local interests such as the LKLP and Hyden Citizens Bank and 
     served as Chairman of the Kentucky River Area Development 
     District and Trustee and Chairman of Berea College.
       In 1963, in recognition of her strong leadership skills, 
     Miss Ireland was elected to the FNS Board of Governors and 
     served in various capacities on the Board until her death. 
     She was Chairman of the Development Committee in 1967; Vice 
     Chairman of the Board in 1968; and National Chairman of the 
     Board of Governors in 1975, a post she held until 1992. In 
     1997 she was named National Honorary Chairman.
       ``She was a great mentor and a very determined and forceful 
     woman who had the gift of convincing others to agree to 
     support her in whatever project she was interested in,'' said 
     Jane Leigh Powell, Chairman of the FNS Board of Governors and 
     a friend of Miss Ireland's for nearly 50 years. ``She 
     maintained her interest in Leslie County after moving to 
     Florida and continued to be a very loyal supporter of the 
     FNS.''
       One example of Kate Ireland's ability to see the potential 
     for Mary Breckinridge's vision for nursing and midwifery was 
     her support for the creation of the Community-Based Nurse-
     Midwifery Education Program (CNEP). ``We clearly would not 
     have the successful, distance education programs that we have 
     today without the support of Kate Ireland,'' reports Susan 
     Stone, President and Dean of the Frontier School of Midwifery 
     and Family Nursing.
       Miss Ireland was better able than many to see that such a 
     program could take the Frontier model of care out to the 
     ``wide neighborhoods'' of mankind, which it is successfully 
     doing as it prepares thousands of nurse-midwives and nurse 
     practitioners to care for families in rural and underserved 
     areas across the United States and abroad. Her support of 
     distance education continued when, with Mary Breckinridge's 
     cousin, Marvin Breckinridge Patterson, she established the 
     first endowed Chair of Midwifery in the United States, The 
     Mary Breckinridge Chair, to support faculty at the Frontier 
     School. For support of students, she established and endowed 
     the Kate Ireland and Kitty Ernst Scholarships to be awarded 
     to students annually. Her footprints on the future of 
     Frontier School continue to make a lasting impact on faculty 
     and students alike.
       In lieu of flowers, Miss Ireland requested donations be 
     made to one of several named organizations or to a charity of 
     your choice. There are several ways to give to Frontier in 
     honor of Miss Ireland:

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