[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 154 (Tuesday, December 4, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1873]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN HONOR OF THOMAS McKENNON ``KEN'' SHEA

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. MIKE ROSS

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 4, 2012

  Mr. ROSS of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of 
Thomas McKennon ``Ken'' Shea, a life-long resident of Dumas, Arkansas, 
who passed away at the age of 58 on November 29, 2012. Ken was born on 
August 9, 1954 in Dumas, Arkansas and I would like to recognize his 
life and achievements.
  Raised in Dumas, Arkansas, Ken attended Dumas High School and earned 
a bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University, where he was a 
member of Kappa Sigma fraternity. Ken returned to Dumas after 
graduating from LSU to become associated with his father at McKennon 
Implement Co. Inc, the family's John Deere farm equipment dealership, 
and served as president and sales manager there while helping to 
oversee his family's farming interests. Following the sale of the 
McKennon dealerships Arkansas Ag in 2011, he was Location Manager for 
Arkansas Ag in McGehee. He was a past president of the Southeast 
Equipment Dealers Association.
  Ken led an exemplary life and was extremely active in many different 
capacities. He was past president of the Dumas Chamber of Commerce, 
Dumas Lions Club, and Walnut Lake Country Club Boar. He served as 
chairman of the Dumas Airport Commission, on the Chicot-Desha 
Metropolitan Port Authority (Yellow Bend Port) and on the Dumas School 
Board. He represented the Dumas area on the Southeast Arkansas Levee 
District Board and had been a member of the AgHeritage Farm Credit 
Services Board of Directors since 1993. Ken was chosen as the Ding Dong 
Daddy of Dumas for 1996 and was named Dumas Lions Club Man of the Year 
in 1993, the same year his wife Debbie was honored as Woman of the Year 
at the annual Dumas Chamber of Commerce banquet.
  Ken was also very active at the First United Methodist Church where 
he served as past chairman of the Administrative Board, a member of the 
governing council, and a Sunday School teacher.
  Leading by example through a lifetime of dedication, community 
service, and commitment to agriculture, Ken has left an undeniable mark 
on the Desha County community. Dumas is a better place, more cohesive 
community because of Ken Shea and he will be deeply missed. My 
heartfelt condolences are with his wife of 35 years, Debbie; his son, 
the Rev. Thomas McKennon Shea Jr. and wife Anna Collins Shea; his 
daughter, Sarah Helen Shea Studebaker and husband Peyton Mills 
Studebaker; his brother, William Warrick ``Bill'' Shea; his sister, 
Anne Shea Carroll; and his two grandchildren, Jackson Reade Studebaker 
and Thomas McKennon ``Mac'' Shea, III. While Ken may no longer be with 
us, his spirit will live on forever in the lives he touched.

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