[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 10 (Wednesday, January 17, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S247-S248]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MORNING BUSINESS

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                    REMEMBERING JAMES WILLIAM MEEKS

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it is with a heavy heart that I share the 
news that Deacon James William Meeks passed away last Christmas Eve at 
his home in South Holland, IL. A longtime resident of the Chicagoland 
area, he was 90 years old.
  James William Meeks was born and raised in the Mississippi Delta town 
of Carrolton. Before moving to Chicago, James worked as a short-order 
cook at a hotel in Mississippi. One day, he met a young lady by the 
name of Esther

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Mae Smith, who also worked in the hotel. They fell in love and, in 
1947, married at the courthouse on their lunch break.
  When James and Esther migrated north to Chicago, he found work at 
Kentile Floors as a forklift operator--a job he would hold for the next 
four decades--but his true passion was an unwavering devotion to his 
faith. In 1957, James became a deacon at the Shiloh Missionary Baptist 
Church and later helped his son, Pastor James T. Meeks, get his start 
as a preacher at Salem Baptist Church. Deacon Meeks was a father figure 
to the entire community, and his powerful handshake, from years of farm 
and manual labor, served as a reminder to the youth at Salem Baptist 
that, if they were planning on hanging around street corners, getting 
into trouble, he would be watching.
  Whether it was at Salem Baptist Church or the streets of Chicago, 
Deacon Meeks inspired so many young people to preach and simply do good 
deeds. It has been said that, when you heard Deacon Meeks' sermons, 
``you knew that the life that was behind the prayer, matched the words 
that were in the prayer.'' As a child, his son James recalled riding in 
the car with his family one Sunday morning. They were on their way to 
church, when his father noticed a woman stranded on the side of the 
road. Without hesitation, Deacon Meeks, in his Sunday suit, pulled over 
to lend a helping hand and fixed the woman's car. Grateful for his 
kindness, the woman offered Deacon Meeks some money. He politely 
declined. James and his siblings began yelling out the window, urging 
their father to take the money. When Deacon Meeks got back into the 
car, he shared a simple, but powerful message with his children: ``You 
don't do everything for money.'' Deacon Meeks was a man of rock-solid 
values.
  I want to offer my prayers and condolences to Deacon Meeks' wife of 
more than 70 years, Esther; their four children; Annie, James, Delores, 
William; their 10 grandchildren; 15 great grandchildren; and 1 great-
great-grandchild. That is a legacy in which to be proud.
  I will close with this: It was said at Deacon Meeks' memorial 
service, ``It's lucky to have somebody who makes it hard to say 
goodbye.'' Well, it is hard to say goodbye to Deacon Meeks today, but I 
count myself lucky to have known him as a friend. Deacon James William 
Meeks will be missed.

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