[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 6 (Friday, January 10, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E46]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


         A TRIBUTE TO HONOR THE LIFE OF MICHAEL WILLIAM PEARSON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. GARY G. MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 10, 2014

  Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
remember and pay tribute to Michael William Pearson, a Navy veteran and 
small business owner from Southern California.
  Mike was a true gentleman, and he will be missed by everyone who had 
the good fortune to know him. He will be remembered for his generosity, 
patriotism, and love of life.
  Mike was born on August 6, 1939 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. God called him 
home on December 26, 2013.
  Mike proudly served in the United States Navy as a medical corpsman. 
He served in the U.S. Pacific Fleet, and was honorably discharged in 
1960 with the rank of Petty Officer, 3rd Class.
  Following in the footsteps of his father, Mike began his career as a 
driller in 1960. He traveled the United States to drill in 
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Washington, DC, and other locations.
  Mike was proud to have participated in the construction of the 
Rayburn House Office Building in the early 1960s.
  Mike returned to California in 1970 to start his own drilling 
company, Pearson Drilling. Mike was a loving husband, father, 
grandfather, brother, uncle, friend, and neighbor.
  I first met Mike when he was my neighbor in Diamond Bar, California.
  We were both in the residential construction field, so we crossed 
paths many times over the years outside of our neighborhood.
  Mike became the stepfather of my Senior Policy Director, Lesli 
McCollum Gooch, in 2006.
  I can tell you first hand what a blessing Mike was for Lesli's 
mother, Loretta Stevenson, and for their family.
  Mike will be sorely missed, but I know his legacy will live on in his 
family, which includes two children, three stepchildren, and eight 
grandchildren.
  Mike was caring and active in his community, and he shared his 
passion for the United States, founded in the ideals of liberty and 
free enterprise, with his family and friends.
  Our community was strengthened by his life of service, and our 
country has been immensely bettered by his patriotism, optimism, and 
goodness.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and all of our colleagues in the House to join 
me in remembering Michael William Pearson, and to honor him for his 
service to our country and community. We are grateful for the legacy he 
has left for our nation.

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