[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 69 (Wednesday, April 27, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING THE LIFE OF MILLARD OAKLEY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN W. ROSE

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 27, 2022

  Mr. ROSE. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the late Millard Vaughn 
Oakley, one of the greatest Tennesseans I have ever known. He passed 
away on April 21 after an extraordinary ninety-one years of life. He 
was a faithful husband, a loving father and grandfather, an exemplary 
public servant, and a passionate believer in his small town and the 
surrounding region. His legacy will live on in our state's history for 
generations.
  He was born May 11, 1930, in Overton County, where he resided his 
entire life. Mr. Oakley was the son of the late T.M. and Cordia Vaughn 
Oakley and was the youngest of seven children. He graduated from 
Livingston Academy in 1947, then attended Tennessee Technological 
University, and earned a law degree from the Cumberland School of Law 
in 1951. He then went on to practice law for about 18 years and 
embarked on a lifetime of public service.
  Millard served one term to the Constitutional Convention, four terms 
as a State Representative, and four terms as Overton County Attorney. 
His law experience brought him here to Washington in 1971, where he 
served as General Counsel for the U.S. House Select Committee on Small 
Business for two years before moving back to the Volunteer State to 
serve as State insurance Commissioner from 1975 to 1979.
  Among his many accomplishments, Mr. Oakley was a business leader who 
played a key role in the economic development of the Upper Cumberland 
region. He started in life as a shoeshine on the Livingston Square and 
checked out as a multi-millionaire, chasing the excitement of the next 
great business deal, opportunity, or challenge.
  If you took a trip to Overton County, you wouldn't have to look far 
to find someone directly blessed by Mr. Oakley. That is certainly true 
for me.
  A lifetime ago, he became friends with my grandfather, Guy Williams 
from Fentress County. I admired my grandfather a great deal and learned 
much from him. Grandpa Williams was the consummate entrepreneur. He had 
successes and failures, but the latter never slowed him down. It is 
likely the reason he and Mr. Oakley hit it off so well. When my 
grandfather passed away, I lost a great mentor.
  Years later, I became acquainted with my grandfather's old friend, 
Millard Oakley. Instinctively, I was drawn to him, and he was kind 
enough to show me the courtesy of being interested in my life. 
Eventually, a friendship grew out of an acquaintance and later this 
friend became one of my most trusted mentors and advisers.
  We come from opposing political parties. I am a Conservative 
Republican. He was a Southern Democrat, but that never impeded his 
willingness to encourage me or hear me out. Our debates and 
disagreements were always cordial. There was never a time when I did 
not glean something valuable from a conversation I had with him. He 
cared and believed in me, and that meant the world. Countless 
Tennesseans would say the same about this mighty man. There was not a 
person in the entire town who Mr. Oakley did not endeavor to know. 
Whether you were the gas station clerk, a sheriff's deputy, or a 
student--you mattered to Millard Oakley.
  What I will always miss is his most sincere compassion. He gave life 
to the dreams of many. His generosity will live on through his numerous 
funds and scholarships to multiple schools and foundations. You'll find 
many buildings at Cumberland University and Tennessee Tech bearing the 
name Oakley for their strong support of higher education. In 2015, the 
Oakleys donated Hartsaw Cove Farm, equaling about 1,400 acres in size, 
along with the farm livestock and equipment, to Tennessee Tech. That 
gift was estimated to be worth more than $9 million.
  As you venture down Interstate 40 in Cookeville and exit to State 
Route 111, you will find yourself on ``Millard Vaughn Oakley Parkway,'' 
the main thoroughfare into the town so dearly loved by this treasure of 
a Tennessean. Up that State Route, you will find an impressive public 
library giving children and adults access to thousands of books and a 
new, magnificent county building, each made possible by Mr. and Mrs. 
Oakley.
  You will also see a modest office in a single-story office complex, 
which is also home to the local radio station bearing his name, where 
he worked most days he was in town. You will also see First National 
Bank--his bank and a major employer in the region. It was through his 
financial institutions that he helped several small business owners 
expand and thrive.
  Today, I sit in the emptiness of loss. I grieve in the void left by a 
giant. There is no replacing Millard Oakley, only honoring him by being 
better, doing better, and leaving this world a little better. In memory 
of a great Tennessean, who did it better than anyone I have ever known, 
I pray that we will each take up the mantle and leave our communities a 
little better than we found them.

                          ____________________