[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 117 (Thursday, August 2, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S5970]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 CONGRATULATIONS BIRDIE ELISE DAVIDSON

 Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, today I wish to lead the Senate 
in congratulating Mrs. Birdie Elise Davidson on reaching her 100th 
birthday on September 7 of this year.
  Birdie was born in Muskogee, OK, to Essie and Max Davidson and grew 
up with three brothers. She moved to St. Louis when she married Mr. 
Louis Sachs. She and Mr. Sachs have three children, seven 
grandchildren, and six great granddaughters. Her daughter, Marjorie, is 
married to Mr. Louis Susman, the U.S. Ambassador to Court of St. James 
in the United Kingdom. Her daughter, Nancy, lives in Highland Park, IL. 
Her son Louis, Jr., lives in San Diego, CA.
  After retiring with her husband to Key Biscayne, FL, Birdie earned 
recognition for her philanthropic activities. She is best known for her 
work for the American Cancer Society.
  The social and technological developments that Birdie has witnessed 
in her lifetime are truly incredible. She has lived through two world 
wars, the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, and the Great Depression. 
She has experienced the birth of the Internet, humanity's journey into 
space, and the eradication of polio and smallpox. Birdie was born 
before women had the right to vote, but ninety-six years later, she 
supported President Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign. Upon meeting 
then-candidate Obama, she told him: ``Young man, I have been alive 
through 17 Presidents and I am counting on you being the 18th--don't 
disappoint me!'' She urged President Obama to set new records and to 
challenge conventional wisdom because she knows the scope and speed of 
change possible in American life as few others do.
  Today, I join with my colleagues in the Senate in congratulating 
Birdie and her family on this amazing occasion, and wishing her good 
health and happiness.

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