[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 111 (Wednesday, July 16, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S4549]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RECOGNIZING THE WAYNE FAMILY

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me in 
recognizing the distinguished Wayne family legacy in Louisiana. On 
April 29, 2014, Guinness World Records officially recognized the Wayne 
family as having the most family members to graduate from Grambling 
State University.
  Beginning in the 1940s, a total of 86 descendants of the Wayne family 
have attended Grambling State University. More than five generations of 
this Marion, LA family have studied at this storied institution and 
pursued lasting careers as military administrators and officers, 
doctors, lawyers, professors, professional athletes, and more. Through 
their years of service, this family has created enduring changes in a 
wide breadth of research and direction to impact and improve the lives 
of all those within their communities.
  The Wayne family sets the Guinness World Record for ``Most family 
members to graduate from the same university'' with 40 approved 
relatives from the Wayne record. This outstanding accomplishment is a 
testament to the family's unparalleled devotion to education and to one 
of Louisiana's Historically Black College and Universities, Grambling 
State University. The continued commitment of this proud Louisiana 
family sets a new standard of both professional and educational 
aspiration and leaves a lasting legacy of achievement for generations 
to come.
  Among this family's graduates of Grambling State University are: Alma 
McElroy Andrews, descendent of Matilda Wayne McElroy; Gloria Marie 
Brown, descendent of Ida Wayne Rivers; Claudine Williams, Dossie Roger 
Williams Jr., Shelia E. Williams, Verjanis Andrews Peoples, Stevie 
Andrews, Tjuana T. Williams, and Marcus D. Andrews, descendants of King 
Wayne; Rose Wayne, Ronald Wayne, Patricia Wayne Williams, and Stephanie 
Williams, descendants of John Wayne Sr; Ellis D. Wayne, LaJeane Holley 
and Mary Will Johnikin, descendants of Moses Wayne; Shirley Wayne, 
Ralph Wayne, and Larry Wayne, descendants of William Thomas Wayne, Sr.; 
Hattie Wayne, Donald Wayne Tatum, Saundra Tatum, Rashia Tatum, Jr., 
Renee Tatum, Michael Tatum, Christopher Tatum, Dawn Michelle Tatum, 
Nicholas Tatum, Kevin Parks, Cathy Denise Wasson Conwright, and 
Veronica Lee, descendants of Sandy Wayne, Sr.; John Earl Ellis, Willie 
Raymond Ellis, and Marcia N. Ellis, descendants of Sam Wayne; and Leola 
Wayne Taylor, Willie B. Wayne, Albert Jackson, Debra Jackson Gilliard, 
Margaret Jackson Riley, and DaRandall D. Riley, descendants of Willie 
Wayne. This family has promoted a continued dedication to education and 
accomplishment for all those who are a part of the communities that 
their exceptional careers have impacted.
  This family has been and continues to be an inspiration to all those 
who have benefitted from the contributions the Wayne descendants have 
made. It is with my heartfelt and greatest sincerity that I ask my 
colleagues to join me in recognizing the incredible legacy of the Wayne 
family at Grambling State University, as well as their lasting impact 
throughout the State of Louisiana and the world.

                          ____________________