[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 213 (Wednesday, December 16, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1156]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               REMEMBERING THE LIFE OF COACH WALLY BUMPAS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MICHAEL GUEST

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 16, 2020

  Mr. GUEST. Madam Speaker, Coach Wally Bumpas was an icon to the many 
young men and women he mentored, and I'm honored to have known him when 
he coached at Brandon High School. Coach Bumpas taught history and 
coached football in Lambert, Shelby, Winona, Jackson, McComb, and 
Brandon, Mississippi, and in 1990 was inducted into the Mississippi 
Association of Coaches Hall of Fame. He loved his players and seeing 
them advance in their careers and personal lives. Coach Bumpas was an 
avid reader, especially of World War II history, and he found great 
pleasure in traveling and fishing. Among his fondest times were trips 
to Europe and an African safari with his wife, Kennie, and fly fishing 
in the Bahamas with many friends including Quinton Dickerson, Dave 
Goldberg, and Charlie Modica, Jr. They thoroughly enjoyed his company 
and advice, and they cherish the photos, stories, and memories of the 
time they shared together.
  After retiring from a longtime coaching career in 1995, Coach Bumpas 
was hired at his retirement party by former Mississippi Governor Kirk 
Fordice. Working in Governor Fordice's successful re-election campaign 
that year with many new friends including Lisa Buelow Ireland, Coach 
Bumpas began a second career in politics and public service. In 1996, 
Coach Bumpas worked on the successful campaign of former Mississippi 
Third District Congressman Charles W. ``Chip'' Pickering, Jr. He 
subsequently served for many years on Congressman Pickering's 
congressional staff in Mississippi. Congressman Pickering always 
considered Coach Bumpas to be a loyal, trusted friend and was grateful 
to have him as a member of his staff.
  Coach Bumpas also enjoyed researching his genealogy and learned he 
descended from French Huguenot Eduod Bompasse, who arrived at Plymouth 
on the ``Good Ship Fortune,'' the first boat to arrive after the 
Mayflower, on November 10, 1621. In recent years, Coach spent his days 
enjoying his home on Lake Lorman in Madison County, Mississippi. Coach 
Wally Bumpas passed away at the age of 84 on December 6, 2020, 
surrounded by family. He is survived by his wife and the love of his 
life, the former Kennie Tuth Robison, whom he married on July 23, 1961, 
at St. John's Catholic Church in Oxford, MS. He is also survived by son 
Wally Bumpas, Jr. and wife Reni, daughter Elizabeth ``Sis'' Bumpas, son 
Ken Bumpas and wife Lisa. as well as seven grandchildren and four 
great-grandchildren. Coach Bumpas was preceded in death by his brother 
Gilbert Dell Bumpas, Jr.
  Through his actions of encouragement to thousands of people he knew, 
Coach Bumpas left Mississippi a better place than he found it. He will 
be missed greatly by those who knew him, but the lessons he instilled 
in so many will continue to positively impact lives for many years to 
come.

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