[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 147 (Wednesday, September 28, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1394-E1395]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN HONOR OF MRS. ANNA M. DEBRO

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 28, 2016

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Mrs. 
Anna M. Debro of Columbus, Georgia on her 100th birthday. Mrs. Debro is 
a phenomenal woman who has lived a life of compassion dedicated to 
serving her community as a triumphant and caring teacher, Christian, 
and mother.
  Anna M. Debro was born in Mississippi on October 3, 1916 to Reverend 
Louis W. Hooper, an honored educator, and Minnie Hooper. She married 
the late Presiding Elder James Debro, Sr., and together over their 30 
years of marriage, had five children--James Jr., Willie, Lisa, 
Harriette, and Dwight.
  Mrs. Debro graduated from Delta Industrial High School, a historical 
boarding school for gifted Black children in the Mississippi Delta. In 
1941, she earned her undergraduate degree at Alcorn & Campbell College 
and continued her education at Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta 
University), where she received her Master's in Math Education in 1960. 
As a lifelong learner with a passion for education, she sought further 
studies at the University of Georgia, Florida A&M University, and 
Tuskegee University.
  Over the next 40 years, Mrs. Debro was committed to educating young 
minds in several capacities. She held the position of Math Department 
Chair, the Tri Hi Y Chair and Student Advisor, as well as the PTA 
Chairwoman at Carver High in Columbus, GA from 1954 to

[[Page E1395]]

1971. Furthermore, she taught at Columbus High from 1971 to 1978, where 
she was historically among the first wave of African American teachers 
to desegregate the Muscogee County School District.
  George Washington Carver once said, ``How far you go in life depends 
on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, 
sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong 
because someday in your life you will have been all of these.'' Mrs. 
Debro has lived a truly blessed life due to her eternal faith in the 
Lord and her vibrant testimony of His greatness to all whom she 
encounters, whether they are a member of her community, church or 
classroom. As a devout servant of God and a member of St. Mark A.M.E. 
Church for over 70 years, her pledge to Christ is echoed in her 
compassionate leadership, which makes her a guiding light within the 
community.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me and my wife, Vivian, in 
extending our best wishes to Mrs. Anna M. Debro on her 100th birthday. 
As we celebrate another year of this outstanding citizen's life, we 
would do well to follow the example of her legacy of striving to be 
lifelong learners and improving the quality of the communities we 
touch.

                          ____________________