[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 84 (Monday, May 20, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING ELLEN VAN EDWARDS

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 20, 2019

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in remembering the life of Ellen Odellas Van 
Edwards, a native Washingtonian and my former classmate at Dunbar High 
School.
  On May 11, 2019, Ellen Odellas Van Edwards passed away in the arms of 
her daughter L. Robin V. Smith, while listening to praise and worship 
music. Throughout Van Edward's life, she brought joy to the District of 
Columbia community as a wife, mother and grandmother; a dedicated 
employee at the Department of Commerce; and later as ``Hajji the Magic 
Clown''.
  Van Edwards was born in Washington, D.C. and attended Dunbar High 
School. We graduated together in 1955, the year before the school was 
desegregated. After graduating from Dunbar, Van Edwards attended the 
Atlantic Business College and earned her bachelor's degree in Business. 
She went on to work at the Department of Commerce for 42 years in the 
Office of the Secretary and the U.S. Patent office, where she was an 
administrative assistant and the first African American woman to work 
for the U.S. Board of Patent Appeals. She also worked in the 
International Affairs division.
  Van Edwards lost her husband in 1974 and raised her two daughters, L. 
Robin V. Smith and Adriene Jordan, alone. Bringing light to a time of 
sadness, she became ``Hajji the Magic Clown.'' She completed clown 
class at Montgomery College and magic class at Catholic University. She 
shared her talent with children around Washington, D.C. and used her 
clowning abilities to win Ms. Senior District of Columbia.
  On June 29, 2003, at the age of 66, Van Edwards was crowned the 21st 
Ms. Senior District of Columbia. She proudly represented D.C.'s other 
senior citizens for one year, encouraging them to live active lives. 
She was said to have won the crown by exemplifying ``the dignity, 
maturity and inner beauty of senior Americans.''
  I ask the House of Representatives to join me in remembering the life 
of Ellen Van Edwards.

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