[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3843]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING ARBELLA PERKINS EWING

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 11, 2008

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to 
pay tribute to Arbella Perkins Ewing in celebration of her 114th 
birthday on Thursday, March 13, 2008.
  As the third-oldest living person in the world and the second-oldest 
living American, Ms. Ewing is a fixture of the Dallas community.
  Born in 1894 on a farm in Freestone County, Mississippi, as one of 12 
children and the great-granddaughter of Mississippi slaves, Ms. Ewing 
endured continual racial problems that eventually led to her move to 
Dallas. In 1936, she and her husband Frank settled into a house in 
South Dallas, where she lived until she was 106.
  As a wife and a mother to one daughter, Ms. Ewing not only made sure 
to keep a clean house for her own family, but extended her charity 
beyond her own home, often cooking for her sick neighbors.
  Known as a God-fearing woman, her faith has greatly contributed to 
her way of life. I am reminded of a quote by the late Dr. Martin Luther 
King, Jr., ``The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is 
important.'' I can truly say that the quality of Ms. Ewing's life 
extends past even her longevity. Her reputation for ``good living'' 
includes not smoking or drinking, eating healthily, and not staying out 
late. She serves as an example for all of us to honor our bodies and 
cherish our health.
  After her husband and daughter passed away in the 1970s, Ms. Ewing 
lived an independent and self-sufficient life until a fall that broke 
her hip in 2007 at the age of 113. Ms. Ewing's strength and resolve has 
seen her though this rough time of surgery into recovery much as it saw 
her through the years of the Great Depression, Jim Crow segregation and 
the Civil Rights Era.
  Ms. Ewing stands as a beacon of will and determination. She makes us 
all mindful that a life well spent is a life worth living.
  Madam Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring Arbella 
Perkins Ewing on reaching the monumental age of 114. I wish her 
continued life, good health and strength.

                          ____________________