[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17366]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO SISTER LULA WALKER, FOUNDER OF TABITHA HOUSE SHELTER FOR 
                      BATTERED WOMEN AND CHILDREN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Richards). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to one of 
the most caring, most willing to share, most sensitive and most 
delightful ladies that I have ever known. Sister Lula Walker was a rock 
in her family, in her church, in her community, in her city, and in her 
country. She was a deeply religious lady, highly motivated, willing to 
sacrifice, and fiercely determined. She did not know how to retreat, 
and she did not know how to take ``no'' for an answer.
  Raised in a Christian home, she met and married her husband, Reverend 
Willie Walker, a Christian man who is an ordained elder in the Church 
of God in Christ Church. Together Sister Walker, her husband Reverend 
Willie and their children have built a legacy of living and giving 
which will rarely be surpassed.
  With little money and no public support, Sister Lula organized a 
ministry of providing for battered women and children. She named it 
Tabitha House, after the disciple Tabitha in Hebrew, or Dorcas in 
Greek. Tabitha was known for her good works, especially for helping 
widows and the poor.
  Through her good works at Tabitha and in other ways, Sister Lula 
became the Mother Teresa of our community. Her work became so famous 
and well-known that she was invited to come to Washington D.C. and 
testify before Congress on the plight of women and children who are 
homeless and in need of shelter.
  Sister Walker had several bouts of serious illness, but like Tabitha, 
or Dorcas, she was able to rise up and continue with her work. Finally, 
on Saturday, July 19th, 2008, Sister Lula could not rise anymore and 
graciously passed out of this life into another.
  So, Madam Speaker, I take this opportunity to extend to Reverend 
Willie Walker and the Walker family, the Tabitha House family and the 
Church of God in Christ church family our heartfelt condolences and the 
great joy that I have experienced as a result of knowing and working 
with the Mother Teresa of our community, the neighborhood where I live, 
Sister Lula Walker.

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