[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 929]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                RECOGNIZING MS. OLLIE LEE McMILLAN MASON

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, February 4, 2013

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize 
the life and achievements of Ms. Ollie Lee McMillan Mason. Ms. Mason 
lived her life with determination and with a commitment to serving 
others. As the first black nurse on the staff of Parkland Memorial 
Hospital in 1937, Ms. Mason was a trailblazer for others who would 
follow in her path.
  A Dallas, Texas, native, Ms. Mason moved to Washington, DC, to study 
at the Freedmen's Hospital School of Nursing. After graduating in 1929, 
she served as chief nurse at the McMillan Sanitarium in Dallas, an 
institute founded by her father, Dr. W. R. McMillan. Ms. Mason later 
studied obstetrics for a year at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York 
City. During her time in New York, she married Duane B. Mason.
  When Ms. Mason and her husband returned to Dallas, Ms. Mason began 
working at Parkland Memorial Hospital in the obstetrics department. She 
became a public health nurse for Dallas in 1941. Ms. Mason continued 
her nursing education at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, and earned 
her bachelor's degree in nursing at Case Western Reserve University in 
Cleveland. Ms. Mason always used her education to serve her community 
in Dallas, whether teaching others to care for premature infants or 
working for the school district.
  Never shying away from a challenge, Ms. Mason joined the Peace Corps 
in 1972 and served in Mauritius. After working overseas, Ms. Mason came 
back to Dallas and worked for Tremont Health Care Center until her 
retirement at the age of 84.
  Ms. Mason died last week at the age of 107 in Irving, Texas. Her 
lifelong dedication to helping others and her love for nursing changed 
our Dallas community for the better. Ms. Mason is survived by her 
daughters, Sandra Ruth Dixon and Anne Young, eight grandchildren and 
two great-grandchildren.

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