[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3744-3745]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            COMMEMORATION OF FERDINAND VINCENT ALLISON, JR.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to honor the life 
and work of a remarkable community leader, Ferdinand Vincent ``Pete'' 
Allison, Jr., who passed on Monday, March 3, at the age of 91. Pete 
Allison was a pillar in the Durham, North Carolina, community. He was a 
personable, kind, and effective banking leader who took great pride in 
his work, but even greater pride in his family. He fought for justice; 
he fought for equality when and where he could.
  Pete Allison successfully used his banking career to enrich the lives 
of countless individuals through his involvement in many organizations 
and charities. The sympathies of the House of Representatives are with 
Pete's entire family during this difficult time.

                              {time}  1015

  Mr. Speaker, I last visited Mr. Allison and his family less than 48 
hours before his passing. He sat in the family's living room and 
participated in our very serious conversation. As I departed the home, 
he told me that he had been so sick, and my response to him was that I 
knew he had had some difficult days, but that he must know that he was 
blessed. He was blessed to be surrounded by a loving and supportive 
wife and family, and he responded that he was aware of that fact.
  Mr. Allison was on schedule to have been inducted into the North 
Carolina Banking Hall of Fame. Only 24 other individuals, Mr. Speaker, 
have been awarded this great honor in our State.
  Pete Allison was a graduate of Hampton Institute--now known as 
Hampton University--an institution that he loved and revered. Following 
graduation, he earned a master's of business administration from New 
York University.
  Highly educated, but not sure which career path he would take, Mr. 
Allison, upon graduation, made a trip to Durham to visit his family, 
who lived in this historic community.
  His father worked at North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. 
Mr. Allison was awed on that visit. He was awed by Durham and its 
thriving environment for African American business.
  On that visit, Pete became acquainted with a gentleman named John 
``Shag'' Stewart, who I remember so well, the president of Mutual 
Savings and Loan Association there in Durham, and he was offered a job 
as a teller; but he would become more than a teller. He became chief 
executive officer in less than 25 years, which was remarkable.
  During his tenure at the Savings and Loan Association, he continued 
to build on the groundbreaking work of other men, like John Merrick, 
C.C. Spaulding, Aaron McDuffie Moore, Richard Fitzgerald, James E. 
Shepard, W.J. Kennedy, John Hervey Wheeler, Asa Spaulding, Sr., W.G. 
Pearson, and many, many others in helping to grow what was known 
nationally as the ``Black Wall Street.''
  Pete Allison served at the helm of Mutual Savings and Loan during the 
institution's most successful years. He spearheaded the transition from 
a mutual savings and loan association to a mutual savings bank and also 
led the acquisitions of American Federal Savings and Loan and 
Greensboro National Bank.
  Mr. Allison was a pillar of the Durham community for more than 60 
long years. As one who led by example, his friends and former 
colleagues praise

[[Page 3745]]

Mr. Allison for having been a strong and effective leader. Most 
recently, in 2010, Mr. Allison received the Mechanics and Farmers Bank 
Founders Award, which recognized his commitment to promoting personal 
and community development.
  Mr. Allison is survived by his lovely wife, Dr. E. Lavonia (Ingram) 
Allison, and we always like to include the Ingram part because that 
family also has a rich history. Many of our CBC members know Dr. 
Allison so very well for her community advocacy.
  Like her husband, Dr. Allison received her undergraduate degree from 
Hampton and her graduate and doctoral degrees from New York University. 
She was a long-time member and head of the influential Durham Committee 
on the Affairs of Black People, which I believe is the oldest and most 
effective political committee in the United States.
  Mr. Allison was a faithful member of White Rock Baptist Church in 
Durham.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, Pete Allison is also survived by two children, 
Dr. F. Vincent Allison III, his namesake; and Michele Allison-Davis; 
and his four grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, today, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the 
life and work of F.V. ``Pete'' Allison, Jr.

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