[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 19224-19225]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  CHARLIE AND MARILYN WALLACE CELEBRATE THEIR 50TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 16, 2013

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize two of my 
constituents, Charlie and Marilyn Wallace, who will celebrate their 
50th wedding anniversary with a vow renewal ceremony in my Texas 
district office this week. These two native Texans have spent half of a 
century together, and I am proud to honor them.
  Charlie and Marilyn first met on April 6, 1963, at the University of 
Texas at Austin during its famous, festive tradition of Round-Up 
weekend. In a series of random events, some acquaintances conspired to 
set Charlie and Marilyn up on a blind date. Marilyn, a senior English 
major, reluctantly accepted Charlie's invitation to the Round-Up talent 
show and dance with great reservation because Charlie was an Aggie! 
Yes, prior to his graduate studies at UT, Charlie earned his bachelor's 
degree in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M.
  That evening, Charlie called Marilyn from her dorm lobby where male 
students were required to wait for their dates. He told her he was 
wearing a blue suit with a red tie and to ``look for the ugliest one in 
the room.'' [Marilyn mistakenly first approached the wrong guy,

[[Page 19225]]

also wearing a blue suit and red tie, who gave her a strange look when 
she said, ``Charles?'' Fortunately, she found the right man soon 
thereafter.]
  Midway through the evening, Marilyn had the uncharacteristic, passing 
thought: ``It might be fun to be married to a man like this.'' It 
wasn't a typical date for Charlie either: In addition to the talent 
show and dance, he gave Marilyn a tour of his chemical engineering 
research lab and even played his guitar for her.
  Marilyn graduated in August of 1963 and went on to teach English at 
Houston ISD's Austin High School, her alma mater, but Charlie made sure 
she didn't get away before she finally accepted his proposal on August 
1, 1963. Charlie presented Marilyn with an engagement ring on September 
21, 1963, and they were married December 21, 1963, in Houston at the 
Epworth Methodist Church.
  Upon Charlie's completion of his master's degree in August 1964, he 
accepted a job with Shell Oil Co. that started with an intensive 
training program and work assignments at Shell's locations throughout 
Louisiana. During the Louisiana years, Marilyn was a substitute 
teacher, and she also held various administrative assistant positions 
that included one at LSU's agronomy department where she was well-
regarded for her outstanding work and professionalism. Of particular 
note is that Marilyn served as a volunteer teacher during the 
Integration of the Louisiana Public School System and taught typing to 
Special Education students. Charlie and Marilyn also were involved in a 
Prison Ministry that they started at Angola Prison. The couple bought 
their first home and settled in Slidell, Louisiana, in the summer of 
1967, and their daughter Sheryl was born in New Orleans later that 
fall. Their son David was born in Slidell in the summer of 1970, just a 
few weeks before Charlie was transferred from New Orleans to Shell's 
Head Office in New York City.
  In 1971, when Shell's Head Office Engineering was moved to Houston, 
the Wallaces were thrilled to return home to Texas. After 35 years of 
service to Shell, Charlie ``retired'' in 1999. However, Charlie 
immediately started his own full-time chemical engineering consulting 
business. His career has presented him with opportunities for 
international travel to Canada, The Netherlands, France, Hungary [when 
it was still behind the Iron Curtain,] China, England, Scotland, and 
Italy.
  Marilyn has always been a supportive wife and mother and a committed 
homemaker. She is an ``independent agent of good'' who dedicates her 
time, resources, creativity, and advocacy to improve the quality of 
life for a diverse array of people including the seriously ill, the 
disadvantaged, the disabled, and the elderly.
  Their children describe Charlie and Marilyn as fiercely committed to 
each other and extremely compatible. They enjoy travel, the outdoors, 
fitness and nutrition, and music. It is an honor to represent such 
decent, hardworking, civic-minded Texans. I want to congratulate 
Charlie and Marilyn on their 50th anniversary and may God bless them 
with many more years together. They are truly an outstanding couple 
from the second district of Texas.

                          ____________________