[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 14, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H186-H187]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
                       THE LIFE OF EDDIE A. BOGGS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to rise to honor a man who 
made a difference. I wish to pay tribute to the extraordinarily 
generous life of American patriot Eddie Boggs, an exceptional educator 
and music man

[[Page H187]]

from Sylvania, Ohio, and Toledo. Eddie was a man held in particular 
affection by the thousands of people whose lives he touched so 
positively. Some said his being embodied the Midwestern caring spirit 
we each wish that we could emanate to those whose paths we cross.
  Eddie was actually born in Soldier, Kentucky, and came north to 
attend the University of Toledo, where he received his master's degree 
and devoted his life to teaching and to his family. He was a musician 
and a composer, a great humanitarian, and an indefatigable social 
studies teacher who was recognized as Educator of the Year in 2005.
  The Toledo Blade says of his life:
  His smile, his sparkling blue eyes, his servant's heart and 
infectious love of life is the Eddie that we remember.
  He was an educator on so many levels for nearly four decades, 
inspiring and caring about thousands and thousands of his students and 
fellow citizens.
  Even after retiring from teaching, he did not really stop working. 
Eddie became a licensed tour guide. An engaged citizen, he made the 
extra effort year after year when he was a teacher and afterwards to 
bring hundreds and hundreds of students from Timberstone Junior High, 
for example, to visit the Capitol. It was always a grand and 
unforgettable occasion. Eddie would stand outside the east front here 
with his guitar, winding his way among hundreds and hundreds of 
students and begin singing, and his resonant and clear voice would 
filter across the Capitol lawn. It always seemed the sun was shining as 
the students gathered under the oak trees and the linden trees. These 
were unforgettable moments.
  In Eddie's so-called retirement, he also furthered his love of music 
by performing nationally with the New Christy Minstrels. He composed 
songs of his own. He played over a thousand songs. His music never 
stopped. He was one of the best known entertainers in northeast Ohio 
and southeast Michigan. Eddie's wife, Chris, stated:
  Eddie got 26 hours out of a 24-hour day. That is how Eddie was, a 
positive man.
  In addition to teaching and performing, Eddie contributed mightily to 
the community through fundraising, and through the Christmas season he 
would organize a Christmas variety show that would raise more than 
$250,000 for area charities. This man was a real citizen.
  Mr. Speaker, Eddie is a gift that keeps on giving for us who had the 
joy of knowing him and sharing in his life. Our thoughts and prayers 
are with his family: his wife, Chris; his daughters, Allison, Sara, and 
Grace; his grandchildren, Landon, Jackson, Kate, Grant, and Nola; his 
mother, Pearl; and mother-in-law, Pat; his brothers and sisters and 
extended family. Eddie's music will always play in our hearts. He 
lifted us to be a better and more caring people.
  May God give his family comfort, and may Eddie's life inspire others 
to emulate his goodness.

                   [From Toledo Blade, Jan. 11, 2014]

     Eddie A. Boggs, 1945-2014, Musician Had Positive View on Life

                           (By Mark Zaborney)

       Eddie A. Boggs, 68, a longtime Sylvania educator and a 
     musician who became one of the best known entertainers in 
     northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan, died Thursday in Ebeid 
     Hospice Residence, Sylvania.
       Mr. Boggs learned in May, 2013, that he had non-Hodgkins' 
     lymphoma, his wife, Chris, said. Through treatment and 
     hospital stays, he performed when he could, most recently 
     Dec. 7 in Fayette, Ohio. Since retiring in 2007 from 
     education, he toured regularly as a member of the New Christy 
     Minstrels, the folk-style group formed in the early 1960s. At 
     the hospital for a biopsy and spinal tap, he asked whether 
     he'd be able to make a Dec. 31 flight.
       ``That was his way of coping,'' his wife said. ``Eddie got 
     26 hours out of a 24-hour day. That's the way Eddie was, a 
     positive man.''
       Also in retirement, Mr. Boggs was a licensed guide, leading 
     tours to Washington--often by school groups--and other 
     destinations.
       Most nights, weekends, and summers throughout the last 40 
     years, Mr. Boggs performed in public, singing the songs he 
     wrote or the 1,000 he memorized, playing guitar or banjo or 
     mandolin, and connecting with audiences.
       ``I always know there's somebody out there who can play 
     greater or sing it better than me, but nobody who loves it 
     more than me,'' he told The Blade in 2008. ``I guess the 
     music is the vehicle, the means to an end to reach out to 
     people.''
       Mr. Boggs organized an annual Christmas season variety 
     show, which raised more than $250,000 for area charities, and 
     a family-friendly New Year's event in Sylvania for several 
     years. He also established the Lake Erie West Hall of Fame 
     for the performing arts.
       He was master of ceremonies for Sylvania's annual fall 
     festival.
       ``Everywhere he went, somebody knew him,'' his wife said.
       In 2007, he was among local finalists in the Jefferson 
     Awards for Public Service.
       ``He was a positive, outgoing individual,'' Sylvania Mayor 
     Craig Stough said. ``He was positive in his outlook to 
     everybody.''
       Mr. Boggs became a social studies teacher at McCord Junior 
     High School in 1973 and, later, a guidance counselor at 
     Timberstone Junior High School. He was recognized as an 
     ``educator of the year'' in 2005.
       ``He went that extra mile to make sure that new kid or 
     teacher felt welcomed,'' his wife said.
       He was born Aug. 10, 1945, in Soldier, Ky., to Elmer and 
     Pearl Boggs. The family moved north, and he was a graduate of 
     Mansfield High School. A counselor told him he wasn't smart 
     enough for college. He went to work in the steel mill--but he 
     took the night shift while attending the Mansfield branch of 
     Ohio State University.
       ``That's why he went into education--he said he didn't want 
     anybody to ever hear they weren't good enough to do 
     something,'' his wife said.
       After two years, he transferred to the main campus in 
     Columbus and received a bachelor's degree. He also had two 
     master's degrees from the University of Toledo.
       Surviving are his wife, Chris Boggs, whom he married Sept. 
     20, 1991; daughters, Allison Boggs, Sara Roemer, and Grace 
     Barton; mother, Pearl Boggs; sister, Ernestine Obney; 
     brothers, Carl, Verlin, and Glenn Boggs, and five 
     grandchildren.
       Visitation will be from 2-8 p.m. Sunday in the Walker 
     Funeral Home, Sylvania Township. Services will be at 11 a.m. 
     Monday at Flanders Road Church of Christ, where he was a 
     member.
       The family suggests tributes to the Leukemia & Lymphoma 
     Society.

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