[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3588]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




HONORING REV. CRAWFORD W. KIMBLE, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS, PASTOR EMERITUS OF 
                  GOOD HOPE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 27, 2014

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Rev. Crawford 
W. Kimble, Pastor Emeritus of Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 
which originated in Freedmen's Town in 1872.
  Reverend Kimble died earlier this week in Houston at the age of 95. 
He will be laid to rest on Saturday, March 1, 2014.
  Rev. Kimble, the fifth of six pastors at Good Hope Missionary Baptist 
Church, served as Pastor for approximately 35 years. His dream of 
building Good Hope in its current location (3015 North MacGregory Way) 
was fulfilled in 1981.
  Rev. Kimble was born in Elgin, Texas on March 24, 1918 and he 
followed the ministerial paths of both his father and grandfather. He 
began preaching at the age of 33.
  Rev. Kimble joined Good Hope Baptist Church in 1951; he preached his 
first sermon there in 1959; and he later became pastor to many 
prominent Texans, namely Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, the first 
African American United States Congresswoman from the South, and Dr. 
Lonnie Smith, who played an important role in minority voting rights in 
primary elections.
  It is astounding to find that prior to Rev. Kimble's calling into the 
ministry, he worked as a newspaper editor and writer! His career began 
as the managing editor with the Houston Informer, Houston's oldest 
African American newspaper; and it ended with the Kansas City Call.
  After more than 30 years in retirement, Rev. Kimble continued to 
write and publish books. He worked out of his second floor office and 
living quarters, a Fourth Ward senior citizen apartment complex which 
was developed and named after him on April 5, 2007: Crawford W. Kimble 
Senior Living, located at 1025 Saulnier Street, in Fourth Ward, Texas.
  Rev. Kimble's works include books entitled ``Watch the Tree it Might 
Fall on You, which he wrote and published at age 80; ``The Adventures 
of Love: God's plan for a Victorious Life for His People'', which he 
wrote and published at age 90; and ``God at Work'', his most recent 
publication, which answers the attacks of Rush Limbaugh on our 
President, President Barack Obama.
  Rev. Kimble was a great man who touched the lives of all who met him. 
He will be missed.

                          ____________________