[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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