[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18341-18342]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         A TRIBUTE TO PAT GRANT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Huizenga of Michigan). The Chair 
recognizes the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Bridenstine) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Mr. Speaker, Pat Grant passed away on November 26, 
2013.
  Whether you called her ``colonel,'' ``attorney'' or ``champ,'' Pat 
Grant was one of the most extraordinary women you would ever hope to 
meet. She dominated women's golf in Oklahoma during the 1930s and 
1940s. In addition to her golf prowess, Grant served her country for 22 
years in the United States Army. After the Army, Grant practiced law 
for 30 years.
  It was said of Grant:

       She was not only the perfect example of an athlete; she was 
     the type of American our country needs to look up to.

  People started noticing Grant when she won the Oklahoma State High 
School Golf Championship as a 13-year-

[[Page 18342]]

old freshman at Cushing High School. She would win it three times 
before graduating in 1938. Then it was on to Oklahoma Baptist 
University in Shawnee. There was no golf team at Oklahoma Baptist 
University at the time, but she was given a scholarship for teaching 
golf to other students. She graduated from OBU in 1942 and was the 
first woman to be inducted into the OBU Athletic Hall of Fame.
  While at OBU and at the age of 18, Grant won the Oklahoma Women's 
State Amateur Championship in 1939. In 1940, at the Indian Hills 
Country Club in Tulsa, Grant won the State championship again. Her 
third straight championship came at the Southern Hills Country Club in 
Tulsa. During that championship, she set a new course record for women 
at Southern Hills and won the championship match 9 and 8. She held the 
trophy for the fourth straight year with a 7 and 6 win in Shawnee. The 
legend was beginning to take shape. Grant became known for hitting 
long, booming drives, some as long as 250 yards. It was rumored that 
sometimes she even talked to her golf ball.
  There was no State championship in 1943, 1944 or 1945 because of 
World War II; but when play resumed in 1946, Grant won the State 
Amateur Championship again. With that victory, Grant became the only 
person in Oklahoma history to win the State championship 5 years in a 
row. That record still stands today.
  When World War II broke out, Grant put aside her ambition of becoming 
a professional golfer so she could serve her country. ``It seemed like 
the right thing to do,'' she said. ``We were at war, and I didn't want 
to sit around here and do nothing,'' she said. Her career in the Army 
was as illustrious as her accomplishments on the golf course.
  Grant and her sister, Mary Margaret, enlisted in the Army in 1942. 
Grant went into the Women's Army Corps, and Mary enlisted in the Army 
Nurse Corps. Grant was commissioned as a lieutenant in April 1943. 
While in the military, Grant held duty assignments all over the globe, 
including assisting the chief legal counsel during the Nuremberg 
Trials. Grant also served as the personal escort to Eleanor Roosevelt 
when the former First Lady toured Germany in 1948.
  Grant received 23 letters of commendation while in the Army and won 
golf tournaments all over the world. ``It was good publicity for the 
Army for me to be playing in all these golf tournaments,'' Grant said. 
``It was great for me because the Army was paying my way. That's what 
you call a `win-win,''' she added.
  In 1965, after 22 years of Active Duty, Grant retired from the Army 
with the rank of lieutenant colonel. She was one of only 60 women to 
attain such a rank at that time. As if her life were not full enough, 
Grant landed in San Antonio to earn a law degree in 1966.
  Just as she protected her country, Grant fought for rights and 
justice through her family law practice. Because of her service to 
others, Grant was named Woman of the Year by the Texas Federation of 
Business and Professional Women's Clubs in 1972. Retirement came for 
good in 1995. Grant moved to Cortez, Colorado. At the age of 90, she 
was still active and full of life. Grant flew an ultralight aircraft 
every Saturday morning when weather permitted.
  ``It has been a good trip,'' Grant recently said. ``God has chosen a 
life of adventure for me. I wouldn't trade it.''
  Grant loved God, and she loved her neighbor, and she spent her life 
dedicated to family, friends, and country. She was inducted into the 
Women's Oklahoma Golf Hall of Fame in April of 2010. She passed away on 
November 26, 2013, at the age of 90. She was a great role model for all 
Americans.

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