[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 83 (Thursday, May 13, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E518]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           JOYCE E. SPRINGER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. SAM GRAVES

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 13, 2021

  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize a 
very special member of the Tarkio Community. Joyce Ellen Springer is 
turning a very independent 90 on Sunday.
  Joyce Davenport was born on her Mother Helen's Birthday in 1931 in 
Fairfax, Missouri. She grew up in Fairfax, graduated from high school, 
married her High School Sweetheart, Robert Hedrick, had two sons and 
built a family in Fairfax as well. When tragedy struck and Robert 
passed away, she displayed grit and self reliance as a true child of 
Northwest Missouri and the Great Depression. She picked herself up, 
dusted herself off and went from housewife to single working mother in 
a time when that was not the norm. Whether she was working for the High 
School Principal as a secretary, as the receptionist for the doctor's 
office or working at the Exchange Bank she always met challenges head-
on and with a warm smile. She was blessed to find another great love in 
Bill Springer who she married in 1972 and was married to for 43 years 
until his passing in 2015.
  It would be easy to dismiss Joyce's life as common or unremarkable. 
That would be a monstrous error. It would not account for the history 
that she has lived, the character and strength she has passed on or 
love she has both given and received. The legacy of Joyce Springer is 
one of her children, step-children, grand children and great grand 
children. Joyce has a legacy that anyone should be proud to have and it 
is undeniable proof of a life well lived.
  Madam Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in wishing Joyce Ellen 
Springer a wonderful 90th Birthday. I wish her all the peace, happiness 
and fulfillment that her heart desires, now and in the years to come. I 
am proud to represent her as a citizen of Missouri's Sixth 
Congressional District.

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