[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 207 (Tuesday, December 8, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1110]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE LIVES OF ADORA PREVOST RAGSDALE AND GEORGE ROBINSON 
                                RAGSDALE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. GEORGE HOLDING

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 8, 2020

  Mr. HOLDING. Madam Speaker, I rise today to take pause and reflect on 
the lives of Adora Prevost Ragsdale and George Robinson Ragsdale.
  Dody, as her family lovingly called her, was born in Waynesville, 
North Carolina on May 31, 1939. The eldest of John Aaron and Adora 
Holtzclaw Prevost, she attended Waynesville High School and Sweet Briar 
College. She was elected President of her college class, and was an 
alumna of the Chi Omega Sorority where she also served as President. 
She graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Arts in History.
  Dody adored the Appalachian Mountains in her youth and loved them 
throughout her life.
  Her husband, George Ragsdale, graduated with honors in 1954 from 
Georgetown Preparatory School and then entered the University of North 
Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated in 1958. An active student 
leader, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, the Order of 
the Golden Fleece, The Order of the Grail and was Chairman of the Men's 
Honor Council. He was elected President of the Senior Class and 
Permanent President of the Class of 1958.
  Madam Speaker, George then went on to graduate from UNC Law School in 
1961. He spent a year in Washington, D.C., as Assistant Chief Counsel 
of the United States Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights for the 
Chairman at the time, Senator Sam J. Ervin, Jr. It was in Washington 
where he met his wife ``Dody'' Prevost.
  And on October 20, 1962 Dody and George married on what was described 
as a ``brilliant October morning.''
  The couple moved back to North Carolina where George entered private 
practice in Raleigh. And upon the election of Governor Dan Moore, 
George was named Legal Counsel to the Governor. And then, in 1968, 
Governor Moore appointed him to the Bench as a Special Judge of the 
Superior Court of North Carolina, then one of the youngest such Judges 
in the State's history.
  Dody championed and pushed countless causes including a fine 
understanding of the Arts, serving as the Board President for the North 
Carolina Symphony, and being a founding member of the American Dance 
Festival. And in her tireless spirit, Dody held multiple positions in 
her community, including with the Rex Hospital Guild and serving as 
President of the Capital City Garden Club.
  George went on to found his own firm, Ragsdale Liggett, with his good 
friend Frank Liggett in 1972. During his long legal career, George 
served on the Boards of Directors of a number of publicly traded 
companies.
  Madam Speaker, George then went on to be elected to the Board of 
Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1979 and 
then served as Chairman between 1984 and 1985.
  Inspired by their deep Christian faith and devotion to God, Dody and 
George Ragsdale were founding members of Holy Trinity Anglican Church 
in Raleigh, North Carolina.
  Sadly, Dody Ragsdale passed away on June 19th earlier this year. And 
her loving husband George passed on August 12th. They will be missed by 
their friends, their family, and their community.
  My deepest and warmest sympathies and condolences are with the entire 
Ragsdale Family in this difficult time.

                          ____________________