[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 18 (Monday, February 1, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E84-E85]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING AND RECOGNIZING LARRY SPENCE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FILEMON VELA

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, February 1, 2021

  Mr. VELA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and recognize Larry 
Spence as he retires as sheriff of Willacy County.
  Sheriff Spence's interest in law enforcement began at an early age in 
his hometown of Clinton, Indiana where he was a patrol boy, and 
culminated in his service to the safety and security of over 20,000 
fellow Texans.
  In 1966 he joined the Air Force and served on its police force in 
California, Illinois and South Vietnam, where he helped secure his base 
during the Tet Offensive. After he returned home in 1968, he took a job 
as a patrolman in his hometown of Clinton and married Maria Reyes, a 
Raymondville Texas native with whom he had a son, Gary. After six

[[Page E85]]

years with the Clinton Police Department, he moved his family to South 
Texas and rose through the ranks. He was named deputy sheriff on June 
1, 1976 and became sheriff of Willacy County on Jan. 1, 1985, a 
position to which he was re-elected nine consecutive times. During his 
tenure, he fostered a strong sense of consistency and security in the 
community.
  Sheriff Spence received numerous awards throughout his career, 
including the Silver Star for Bravery and the J. Edgar Hoover Award for 
Distinguished Police Service. He also received an invitation from 
President Ronald Reagan to attend the White House Conference for a 
Drug-Free America to honor his work in Texas' War on Drugs. An example 
of Sheriff Spence's honorable actions while on duty include his 
successful deescalation of a union strike in 1979 when he was just a 
deputy officer: he heroically placed himself between two individuals 
and singlehandedly prevented a potentially fatal incident.
  Sheriff Spence will be deeply missed by the many people in South 
Texas that he helped protect over the last 35 years.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Sheriff Larry 
Spence's years of service and dedication to the people of Willacy 
County, and wish him an enjoyable retirement and all the best in his 
future endeavors.

                          ____________________