[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 16, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E52]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              IN MEMORY OF MRS. JOHNNIE LEE BROWN COLLIER

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                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 16, 2019

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a 
dedicated woman of God, great wife, steadfast mother, and friend of 
longstanding, Mrs. Johnnie Lee Brown Collier. Sadly, Mrs. Collier 
passed away on December 27, 2018. Her funeral service was held on 
Thursday, January 3, 2019 at 11 a.m. at the Fourth Street Missionary 
Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia.
  Mrs. Johnnie Lee Brown Collier was born on October 22, 1926, in 
Columbus, Georgia to the union of Cleola Daniel Brown and John Brown, 
Sr. She gave her life to Christ and was baptized at an early age at 
Rosehill Memorial Baptist Church. From that time on, God continued to 
be the center of her life until her passing. She served as the Sunday 
School Superintendent and Church Clerk at Rosehill before moving her 
membership to the Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church in 1957. Her 
first pastor at Fourth Street was the late Reverend Henry Harris. Mrs. 
Collier paved the way for others as she was the first Church Secretary 
at Fourth Street. She was a natural and gifted leader as she served in 
a variety of leadership positions at Fourth Street to include the 
Deacon's Wives (she served as Chairperson for two terms), PICCM 
Community Leader in Zebulon Community, Women's Day Speaker, 1961, 
Chairperson of Program and Pastoral Relations Committee, and was the 
Roast and Toast Honoree in 1996.
  Mrs. Collier was the epitome of a great wife and mother. She married 
the late Deacon Samuel Lee Collier on April 26, 1950. God blessed this 
union for 34 years until Deacon Collier's untimely death on May 27, 
1984. Six children were born to this union to include two sets of 
twins: Bernice Collier Collins, Bernard Collier (deceased), Agnes 
Collier Averett, Samuel Lee Collier, Jr., Michelle Collier McClain, and 
Michael Collier. Fred Rogers once said that, ``It's not so much what 
you have in life that matters, It's what we do with what we have.'' 
Mrs. Collier did a lot for others with what she had. In addition to her 
own children, she served as a mother figure to her siblings and 
countless others she found in need of guidance and a helping hand.
  Former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm once said that, ``Service is 
the rent that we pay for the space that we occupy here on this earth.'' 
Mrs. Collier paid her rent and she paid it well. She served in a 
variety of community organizations to include: Electric City Chapter 
482 of the Order of the Eastern Stars (Worthy Matron), Spencer High 
Alumni (Class of 1943), Muscogee County Board of Elections (Voting 
Precinct Manager); and she traveled to various state conventions to 
further her knowledge of the voting process. She was also an 
entrepreneur and a photographer. Her professional career took her to 
the Medical Center, the Area Mental Health Clinic, and the Enrichment 
Services Program. Her benevolence extended throughout the community and 
she often used her influence and networking to help others to find 
gainful employment.
  Madam Speaker, my wife Vivian and I, along with the more than 730,000 
constituents of the Second Congressional District of Georgia, salute 
and honor the life of Mrs. Johnnie Lee Brown Collier. I ask my 
colleagues in the House of Representatives to join us in extending our 
deepest condolences to Mrs. Collier's family during this time of 
bereavement. We pray that they will be consoled and comforted by an 
abiding faith and the Holy Spirit in the days, weeks and months ahead.

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