[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 188 (Thursday, November 29, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN MEMORY OF MRS. EUNICE L. MIXON

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 29, 2018

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart and 
solemn remembrance that I rise today to pay tribute to a distinguished 
educator, political activist, and dear friend of longstanding, Mrs. 
Eunice L. Mixon. Sadly, Eunice departed to her eternal reward on 
Thursday, November 22, 2018. On Sunday, December 2, 2018, friends and 
family will gather to celebrate the wonderful life of this exceptional 
woman at a homegoing service held at First Baptist Church in Tifton, 
Georgia.
  Eunice Lastinger Mixon was born in Tifton, Georgia on November 1, 
1931, to the union of the late Robert and Carrie Lastinger. A product 
of the Tift County School System, she went on to attend classes at 
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Norman Park Junior College, 
Valdosta State College, and the University of Georgia where she earned 
both Master's and Specialist Degrees in Science Education.
  Winston Churchill said, ``We make a living by what we get, but we 
make a life by what we give.'' Through every stage of her life, Eunice 
always gave herself to others. She served as an educator for 30 years 
within the Tift County School System and at Abraham Baldwin 
Agricultural College before redirecting her passion to politics. Her 
first official post in politics came in 1974 when she became the Tift 
County campaign chair for former Governor George Busbee. She also 
served as a delegate to the 1988 and 1992 National Democratic 
Conventions, and as a member of the Georgia Democratic Executive 
Committee. Over the years, she has helped campaign and fundraise for 
several political figures including former Georgia Lieutenant Governors 
Zell Miller, and Pierre Howard, former Georgia Governors Roy Barnes, 
Joe Frank Harris, and Sonny Perdue, former Georgia Commissioner of 
Agriculture Tommy Irvin, former Georgia Secretary of State Max Cleland, 
U.S. Representative Charles Hatcher, former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn, 
former U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton as well as yours 
truly.
  Eunice's distinguished civic service was mirrored by her extensive 
involvement in her community. In conjunction with her professional 
accomplishments in politics, she served on several boards, including 
the Georgia Student Finance Commission; Vocational Education Task 
Force; Advisory Council on Consolidation of Education Programs; Georgia 
Civil War Commission; Joint Board Liaison Committee; and the Georgia 
State Bar Disciplinary Board. She has served as the doorkeeper to the 
Georgia State Senate, and has served on the State Bar of Georgia's 
Investigative Panel; the Tifton/Tift County Library Board; the Coastal 
Plain Regional Library Board; the Heritage Trust Commission Board; and 
the State Election Board.
  Eunice received several awards for her extensive achievement, 
service, and public distinction. These include induction into the Tift 
County Chamber of Commerce's Wall of Fame in 2014; the Liberty Bell 
Award by the Tifton Judicial Circuit Bar Association in 2016; the 
Eunice Mixon Award from the State Bar of Georgia in 2010; the 
Distinguished Older Georgian by the Georgia Council on Aging in 2018; 
and a listing as one of the 40 Most Influential South Georgians.
  Eunice is survived by her loving sons, Johnny and Jimmy; and a host 
of other family members and friends.
  On a personal note, I was blessed to know Eunice and her husband, 
Albert, for many years and I can say without reservation that she was 
one of the most passionate and warm-hearted individuals I have ever 
met. I am proud to have considered Eunice and the Mixon family as 
friends of longstanding.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join my wife Vivian and me, along 
with the more than 730,000 people of the Second Congressional District, 
and all across the state of Georgia, in paying tribute to Mrs. Eunice 
Lastinger Mixon, for her legacy of service to state of Georgia, and 
extending our deepest condolences to Eunice's family, friends, and 
loved ones. We pray that we will all be consoled and comforted by an 
abiding faith and the Holy Spirit in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

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