[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 30 (Thursday, February 25, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H896]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IN MEMORY OF GEORGE COLLINS JEFFREYS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Holding) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOLDING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and work of 
Goldsboro's own George Collins Jeffreys, who passed away on January 20.
  Born over 90 years ago, in 1925, George lived a long and full life. 
The eldest of four children, he attended St. Mary's School and Oak 
Ridge Military Academy in Oak Ridge, North Carolina. During the Second 
World War, George served in the Pacific.
  After the war, George returned home to work in the family business, 
which was originally established back in the 1890s by two prominent 
North Carolina families to market local produce, chickens, seed, and 
eggs. The business was successful.
  In the 1920s, George's father and uncle took over the business, 
renaming it Jeffreys and Sons. The two brothers began offering beverage 
distribution. After the end of prohibition, they became a licensed 
distributor for Anheuser-Busch products.
  It wasn't long before the company had grown so big that it was 
divided into separate seed, beverage, and cabinet companies. It 
continued growing and expanding in Goldsboro, Greenville, and other 
communities.
  Today, R.A. Jeffreys Distributing Company is the oldest Anheuser-
Busch distributor in North Carolina as well as one of the oldest 
family-owned distributors in the United States.
  R.A. Jeffreys Distributing Company services almost every grocery 
store, convenience store, and restaurant in the area, supplying 36 
counties in North Carolina.
  Now, George Jeffreys was not only respected as a business leader. He 
was a thoughtful and generous member of his community, volunteering and 
contributing to local schools, Scout troops, churches, and community 
programs.
  In addition to his company being recognized multiple times as an 
outstanding wholesaler by Anheuser-Busch, receiving the Dimensions of 
Excellence Award, George also received the Distinguished Service Award 
from the Tuscarora Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
  His dedication to business and to his community were certainly 
highlights of his long and full life. But the true foundation of George 
Jeffreys' life was his family.
  His wife Lucy and his three children--his daughters, Leigh and Ellen, 
and his son Robert--and seven grandchildren will all remember him with 
love.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to call George Jeffreys a friend.
  I pray for God's blessings and God's peace to his family.

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