[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 8, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H1155-H1156]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF JACK VANIER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. Mann) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MANN. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the life and legacy of a 
great Kansan, Jack Vanier, who died at the age of 94 last month, as 
well as his late wife, Donna.
  Jack was born in Salina, where he was raised to love agriculture and 
the conservative Kansas values of faith, hard work, freedom, integrity, 
family, and personal responsibility. These are the values that make our 
State so special, and Jack embodied them. He was an unassuming and 
humble servant leader with a long list of accomplishments, but he 
didn't make his life about himself; he made his life about others.
  Jack had a larger-than-life personality, but he didn't want the 
spotlight. He wanted to make a difference in his community, his alma 
mater K-State, and the lives of the people around him.
  Jack was a hero of Kansas agriculture. He painstakingly operated the 
CK Ranch in Brookville, Kansas, once the largest producer of purebred 
Hereford cattle in the United States. He brought commonsense leadership 
to the American Hereford Association, Kansas Livestock Association, 
National Cattlemen's Beef Association, and Archer-Daniels-Midland.
  He was a generous, philanthropic visionary for Kansas State 
University.
  Most importantly, alongside his late wife, Donna, he raised his 
family on faith.
  Jack's wife, Donna, who passed away on May 23, 2020, was larger than 
life in her own right. Donna was a generous and hardworking 
philanthropist who always put her family first. She was the driving 
force behind the Donna L. Vanier Children's Center in Salina, which has 
now been open for 11 years, and she was a proud K-State supporter who 
built deep, long-lasting relationships with athletic directors and 
students alike.
  Donna and Jack were servant leaders through and through, and they 
were recognized together as a couple as the Kansan Humanitarians of the 
Year in 2018.
  What a legacy this great couple leaves behind for their children and 
grandchildren to emulate and remember them by, and what a blessing for 
Jack to join his wife, Donna, to rest with our Lord.
  To Mary, Marty, John, and their children, and to all of Jack and 
Donna's family who were blessed by the love of this great couple, my 
thoughts and prayers are with you all.


              Honoring the Life and Legacy of Mark Fowler

  Mr. MANN. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the life and legacy of a 
great Kansan, Mark Fowler, and to mourn his untimely passing at the age 
of 52 at his home in Manhattan on February 20.
  Mark grew up on his family's farm near Emporia, Kansas. He earned a 
bachelor's degree in Milling Science and Management from Kansas State 
University, and later returned to complete a master's degree in 
agricultural economics. He began his career as a flour miller, first 
for Cargill, and then Seaboard.
  In those roles, Mark ran flour mills, which worked on projects in 
several developing countries, including Ecuador, Guyana, and Haiti, and 
worked as a technical director of the African Division within 
Seaboard's Overseas Group in Durban, South Africa.
  Mark was the president and CEO of Farmer Direct Foods, a farmer-
owned, flour milling company in New Cambria, Kansas, after which he 
moved into his most recent role at U.S. Wheat, where he originally 
served as vice president of overseas operations.
  Mark once said that he wanted to advance the U.S. wheat export market 
development mission because, through his work overseas, he experienced 
the global impact of wheat milling.

  Mark's dedicated service helped hungry people all over the world, and 
he will be sorely missed.
  To his colleagues and friends, his widow, Courtney, his daughters 
Piper and Paige, his mother Ruth Fowler, and his sisters Rhonda and 
Amy, you are in my thoughts and prayers as you mourn Mark's passing.


              Honoring the Life and Legacy of Andy McCurry

  Mr. MANN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of 
a

[[Page H1156]]

great Kansan, Andrew J. McCurry, who passed away on February 12 at his 
home in Burrton, Kansas, surrounded by his loving family.
  Andy was born in 1950 in Hutchinson, Kansas. After studying animal 
science and industry at Kansas State University, he and his wife, Mary, 
started their registered Angus operation Marands Angus, which later 
became McCurry Angus Ranch.
  As third- and fourth-generation Angus breeders, Andy and his family 
built a legacy all their own while carrying on the traditions of their 
ancestors.
  Andy spent a lifetime pounding posts by hand, making a suitable place 
for hosting cattle sales, chuckwagon cookouts, livestock judging teams, 
and visitors from across the U.S. Ultimately, he built a place to raise 
both his family and world-class Angus cattle by the sweat of his brow.
  Andy's gift was the ability to meet people from all walks of life and 
spend time getting to know them, and his network of friends was 
nationwide.
  Later in life, Andy pursued another career as a pharmacist. He 
attended the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy, graduated in 
1990, after which he worked as a pharmacist in the Hutchinson, Kansas, 
area for 30 years, retiring on his 70th birthday in 2020.
  Because of his career-change experience, Andy was able to come 
alongside young people and help them find direction in their lives. He 
encouraged so many.
  To Andy's wife, Mary; his son, John; his daughter, Emily; and all his 
grandchildren, you have my prayers as you gather together to remember 
Andy's loving impact.
  Andy's legacy lives on in so many ways, especially in the cattle his 
family still produces. I know the first bull sale without Andy will be 
a tough one, but what a way to honor his legacy by continuing on the 
tradition he loved so much.
  I will be praying for you tomorrow during the sale that your family 
would have peace, Andy would be honored, and that the bulls would set 
new records.

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