[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16545]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         BARBARA ELOISE EARNEST

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JOE BACA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 24, 2008

  Mr. BACA. Madam Speaker, I stand here today to honor and remember a 
distinguished member of the Colton community and a beloved wife, 
mother, grandmother and friend, Barbara ``Bobbie'' Eloise Earnest.
  Bobbie was born in Indio, California on January 30, 1930. After 
moving as a child, she became a lifelong resident of Colton, 
California. Her mother, Gertrude Valenzan, was the first female Mayor 
Pro-Tem of Colton.
  Bobbie graduated from Colton High School in 1948. An enterprising 
young woman, long before women were encouraged to work outside the 
home, Bobbie began working at the age of 16 in the mail room of the 
Retail Clerks Union, which would later become the United Food and 
Commercial Workers Union UCFW. For nearly forty years, Bobbie worked 
tirelessly for the UCFW, rising through the ranks from what she called 
``an envelope licker'' to Insurance Department Supervisor for the UCFW 
for all of San Bernardino County. She was also the recorder for all of 
the minutes of all the union meetings for all of those years.
  After retiring in 1985, Bobbie took up golf. Always insisting on 
walking, never using a cart or caddy, she famously walked all 18 holes 
3 or 4 times a week well into her seventies. She was known in her 
neighborhood as a caring, compassionate woman, the ``Mother Teresa'' to 
her friends.
  A devout woman, Bobbie was an active member of Immaculate Conception 
church in Colton, CA. Also a family woman, she raised her three 
children Nick, Larry, and Becky by herself. In 1980, she met and 
married Leroy Johnson and shared in a loving relationship for 28 years. 
Bobbie's true pride was her 12 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.
  In her youth, Bobbie was known as a first-rate dancer, and had once 
been a dance partner of the great Johnnie Bracia. And it was with that 
same spirit of grace, style and elegance that Barbara Eloise Earnest 
touched the lives of all those around her.
  Let us take a moment to remember this amazing woman and her admirable 
dedication to others and leading an exemplarily life, one of whose 
footsteps we all hope to follow. Having known her for over twenty 
years, the thoughts and prayers of my wife Barbara, my family and I are 
with her loved ones at this time.
  Madam Speaker, the community of Colton has lost one of its greatest 
native daughters, but she will forever live on in the hearts of those 
that knew her. God Bless Bobbie Earnest for love of country and 
mankind.

                          ____________________