[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5935]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     MOMENT OF SILENCE HONORING FORMER REPRESENTATIVE DAWSON MATHIS

  (Mr. BISHOP of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart and 
solemn remembrance that I rise today to pay tribute to an outstanding 
public servant and friend of longstanding, the Honorable Dawson Mathis. 
Sadly, former Congressman Mathis passed away on Monday, April 17, 2017. 
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 29, 2017, at 2 p.m. 
in Nashville, Georgia.
  A Georgia man through and through, Dawson Mathis was born on November 
30, 1940, in Berrien County, to Marvin Wilbur Mathis and Nell Dawson 
Abell. He attended South Georgia College, now South Georgia State 
College, in Douglas. Before seeking public office, Dawson made a name 
for himself as the anchor and news director at WALB-TV in Albany, 
Georgia, from 1964 until 1970.
  That year, the young 29-year-old Dawson was elected to represent 
Georgia's Second Congressional District in the United States House of 
Representatives. He served on the House Agriculture Committee where he 
was a staunch advocate for the farmers, ranchers, and producers of the 
district and the Nation. He was known for working with lawmakers across 
the aisle to find common ground that would best serve the interests of 
Americans across the country.
  In 1980, Congressman Mathis ran unsuccessfully for the United States 
Senate. After being defeated in 1982 to regain his House seat, 
Congressman Mathis became a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., advocating on 
behalf of groups including Georgia peanut farmers.
  George Washington Carver once said: ``No individual has any right to 
come into the world and go out of it without leaving behind him 
distinct and legitimate reasons for having passed through it.'' Indeed, 
Congressman Dawson Mathis devoted many years of dedicated service to 
the people of Georgia through his meaningful contribution of energy, 
skill, and genuine passion, and for it, he will be remembered for years 
to come.
  On a personal note, Congressman Mathis was one of my predecessors in 
serving the Second Congressional District of Georgia, and I was blessed 
with his friendship, counsel, and mentorship over the years. 
Congressman Mathis was a great Representative for southwest Georgia and 
rural America, and I looked up to him as an example of how a public 
servant should serve his constituents.
  Mr. Speaker, my wife, Vivian, and I, along with the more than 730,000 
residents of Georgia's Second Congressional District, salute 
Congressman Dawson Mathis for his outstanding public service and his 
everlasting commitment to improving the quality of life for our 
citizens. I ask my colleagues here in the House of Representatives to 
join us in extending our deepest condolences to Congressman Mathis' 
family and friends during this difficult time.
  We pray that they will be consoled and comforted by an abiding faith 
and the Holy Spirit in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask at this time for the House to observe a moment of 
silence in remembrance of the late Congressman Dawson Mathis.

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