[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 22]
[House]
[Pages 31264-31265]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                BEATRICE E. WATSON POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 3569) to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 16731 Santa Ana Avenue in Fontana, 
California, as the ``Beatrice E. Watson Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3569

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. BEATRICE E. WATSON POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 16731 Santa Ana Avenue in Fontana, 
     California, shall be known and designated as the ``Beatrice 
     E. Watson Post Office Building''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be 
     a reference to the ``Beatrice E. Watson Post Office 
     Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Davis) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.

[[Page 31265]]




                             General Leave

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such 
time as he may consume to the sponsor of this legislation, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Baca).
  (Mr. BACA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the chairman who is 
working on this for yielding me this time.
  I rise tonight to honor Beatrice ``Bea'' Watson, a woman who 
dedicated her life to her community and to democracy. I want to thank 
my colleagues on both sides of the aisle from California for supporting 
this legislation on a bipartisan basis. Bea Watson died on August 5 at 
the age of 83. My bill, H.R. 3569, would designate the Santa Ana Avenue 
post office in Fontana, California, to be named in her honor.
  My friend, Bea Watson, was a distinguished member of the Fontana 
community. Bea strove to make a positive difference in her hometown, a 
positive role model, and was an inspiration to all she came in contact 
with, and she led by example.
  In over 45 years of life in Fontana, she served as an elected city 
councilmember, clerk, historical society officer, women's club 
president, chamber of commerce member, and organized many events such 
as parades and festivals in Fontana.
  Bea was also recognized for her outstanding achievement and loved by 
all her community for her contributions to the Fontana community. 
Through her life, she received over 22 prestigious community awards, 
including the Fontana PTA Council Award, the Chamber of Commerce 
Outstanding Volunteer Award, the Community Spirit Award, and the 
California Legislature Woman of the Year Award.
  In fact, Bea was so loved by the community that she was given the 
title of ``Mrs. Fontana'' or ``Busy Bea'' in the City of Fontana. Her 
efforts have touched the lives of her neighbors and her impact on the 
community will create a lasting legacy for generations to come.
  As a volunteer, as a public servant and as a friend of her community, 
Bea proved herself to be an exemplary American. She was an excellent 
example of the meaning of volunteerism, and the quality of life in 
Fontana is better because she cared and gave so much of herself knowing 
that it would be a better place for others.
  Although now gone, she will continue to serve as an inspiration to us 
all. It is with great honor that I ask Members of Congress to designate 
the post office in California's 43rd Congressional District as the 
Beatrice Watson Post Office. I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation.
  Again, I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, the 53 
Members from California who signed on.

               [From The Press-Enterprise, Aug. 14, 2007]

                Ex-Fontana Councilwoman Bea Watson Dies

                            (By Mary Bender)

       Former City Clerk and Councilwoman Bea Watson, a tireless 
     community volunteer who organized the city's Christmas and 
     Fontana Days parades, died Sunday and will be remembered in a 
     funeral service Monday.
       She was 83.
       Mrs. Watson was elected to two terms as Fontana city clerk, 
     completing her eight years in office in December. She also 
     served one term as a city councilwoman, from 1992 to 1996, 
     losing her re-election bid to Manuel Mancha by 68 votes.
       ``Bea was a citizen who truly cared for this community,'' 
     said Linda Nunn, Fontana's deputy city clerk. ``She will 
     truly be missed.''
       Mrs. Watson, who had been ill for three months, died of 
     congestive heart failure at Legacy Rehabilitation Center in 
     San Bernardino, according to Monica Bentley, her 
     granddaughter.
       She is survived by her husband, Larry Watson, a production 
     specialist for KFON Channel 3, the city's government access 
     station that airs meetings of the Fontana City Council and 
     Planning Commission.
       Other survivors include her daughter, Patricia Bentley, of 
     Fontana, her brother, Fay Allen, of San Bernardino, her 
     sister, Marguerite Botsford, of Fontana, Monica Bentley and 
     another granddaughter, and a great-grandson.
       Mrs. Watson's successor, City Clerk Tonia Lewis, said she 
     would recruit friends and colleagues to help out with civic 
     events. ``It's hard to fill her shoes because she was so 
     active in everything,'' Lewis said. ``She didn't take no for 
     an answer.''
       Mrs. Watson didn't let her ailments slow her down. ``Toward 
     the end, she was so sick and so bent over,'' Lewis said.
       ``She had a hard time getting around. She shuffled and it 
     never stopped her,'' Lewis said. ``She just kept going, like 
     the Energizer Bunny.''
       One of Mrs. Watson's passions was the Fontana Historical 
     Society, which was established in 1974 but in recent years 
     needed an infusion of volunteers to replace its aging roster.
       ``She got me involved with the Historical Society because 
     the society was failing for lack of membership. She hated to 
     see things fail, so she would gather together people she knew 
     who could handle those things,'' Lewis said. ``We had no 
     choice.''
       Mrs. Watson was active in several other local organizations 
     and events, including the Fontana Woman's Club, the Fontana 
     Exchange Club; American Legion Auxiliary, Post 772; and the 
     Fontana Chamber of Commerce.
       She served on committees to commemorate Fontana's 50th and 
     75th anniversary celebrations, and organized the city's 
     annual Community Prayer Breakfast since 1990. She also was an 
     active volunteer for the Fontana Days Festival, the annual 
     summer celebration of the city's 1913 founding by A.B. 
     Miller, and organized the city's annual Festival of Winter.
       ``The Christmas parade was her baby. She felt like she was 
     doing it for the kids in Fontana,'' Lewis said.
       Born July 1, 1924, in Ashtabula, Ohio, Mrs. Watson came 
     West in 1944, living in San Bernardino before moving to 
     Fontana. She attended San Bernardino Valley College and was a 
     retired telephone company administrator with Pacific Bell.

  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I join with my fellow colleague from 
California in support of H.R. 3569, a bill to name the post office on 
Santa Ana Avenue in Fontana after Beatrice ``Bea'' E. Watson.
  She was truly a pillar of the community and well-recognized in 
Fontana. As my colleague said, the California delegation uniquely 
requires 53 cosponsors in order to bring a bill. That means that a very 
diverse State, the most diverse in the Nation, has to come together on 
these post office namings. This is an example when we did.
  Bea dedicated her life to the community and in every sense was in 
fact a true Californian, although in fact, like myself, she was born in 
Ohio and came to California at age 20. She originally moved to San 
Bernardino where she attended the San Bernardino Community College. She 
then worked for the telephone company as an administrator for Pacific 
Bell.
  Only years later did she arrive in Fontana. Nevertheless, her 
dedication allowed her to become truly a pillar of the community, a 
city councilwoman, and to serve in various capacities for the rest of 
her life, through both Fontana's 50th and 75th anniversaries.
  It is not lightly that we consider naming post offices after people 
not in the postal community, and I join with my colleague today and the 
California delegation unanimously urging passage of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I concur with my colleagues from 
California and urge passage of this legislation, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3569.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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