[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 70 (Thursday, April 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2216-S2217]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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             TRIBUTE TO MARY JO MORGAN ``MIMI'' WEDGEWORTH

 Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, last week, my beautiful mother 
Mary Jo Morgan Wedgeworth passed out of this world and into the arms of 
our Lord. She left with all those who were blessed to know her a 
lifetime of wonderful memories and a legacy of love, friendship, and 
service.
  My mother was a lifelong resident of Laurel, MS. During her youth, 
she was the 1944 winner of the National 4-H Club Girl Achievement award 
and the President's Trophy. This was awarded to her at the National 4-H 
Club Congress in Chicago. She continued to be an active participant in 
Mississippi 4-H Club programs, serving in numerous leadership roles and 
always serving as a local 4-H club leader. She served on the 
Mississippi 4-H Club board and as president of the Mississippi 
Extension Service Homemakers and FCE Club.
  She was a member of First Baptist Church and active in women's 
programs and Sunday school. She especially loved providing beautiful 
flower arrangements made with cuttings from her garden for church 
events.
  She was active in the Mississippi Council of Garden Clubs, where she 
served as president, and the Deep South Garden Club Council as a 
nationally accredited flower show judge and in the Waynesboro Drive 
Garden Club. She was known for her entertaining and educational 
programs on flower-arranging, gardening, and recycling. In

[[Page S2217]]

1987, she was honored by Keep America Beautiful with the lifetime 
achievement award for her exceptional efforts to keep our Nation 
beautiful. Some of her efforts included working to develop the Avenue 
of Magnolias at each of Mississippi's interstate State-line entrances 
and also the garden club wildflower program.
  In 1976, she was honored with the Mississippi Volunteer Activist 
award for the thousands of hours she gave in volunteer service to her 
community. Indeed, her community activism began early with organizing 
victory gardens to support America's efforts during World War II.
  She was active in the Jones County Republican Party, holding various 
offices and serving as chairman of both the Jones County Republican 
Women and the Mississippi Federation of Republican Women.
  She was a docent for the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, where she so 
enjoyed giving tours and teaching children about the collections at the 
museum. For decades, she served on the board of the Red Cross and 
always had helping hands to assist victims of hurricanes and disasters 
who sought shelter from the storm. During the aftermath of Hurricane 
Katrina, she and my father Hilman welcomed and served meals to hundreds 
who fled to the Red Cross shelter in Laurel.
  Throughout her long life, my mother strung together more than a few 
pearls of wisdom for the benefit of her 3 children, 7 grandchildren, 
and 16 great-grandchildren, but the one that rests at the top of my 
mind is this: ``Leave things in better shape than you found them.'' 
Whether it was through the flowers in her garden or the gentle 
encouragement that banished my fear and doubt, my mother took her own 
words to heart every day of her life. I will miss her terribly, but I 
find comfort and inspiration when I remember that the world she left 
behind for me is a far more beautiful place today than it was when she 
made her grand entrance 97 years ago.

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