Date: 2005-03-08
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. my favorite hymn is "Let the Work I Have Done Speak For Me." I think that more than anything explains our friend and former colleague. Tillie Fowler. My prayers and deepest regret goes out to her immediate family. Buck and their two girls. Tillie Ann and Elizabeth. Tillie and I shared a lot. We were in the great class of 1992. We said that was the class. the year of the woman. One distinguished objective to describe Tillie was she was a tremendous fighter. She struggled for what she believed in and for the betterment of the people in the region she served. Above all. Tillie loved her country. and she fought hard to protect it. She distinguished herself in the area of military and. in particular. fighting for womens rights in the military. I also served with Tillie on the Committee on Transportation and the Infrastructure. and we crossed party lines numerous times to work together to do what was best for the city of Jacksonville and North Florida. I almost said Georgia because I know that my colleague is here. and he is going to speak from Georgia. but her roots came from Georgia. She came from a political family. One could tell she was a lady. a southern lady. We all must pass this way. but. hopefully. when we do. we can look back on all of the things that Tillie Fowler has done. not just for the community but for the entire country. to make this place a better place because Tillie Fowler has passed here. When you are born. you get a birth certificate. And when you die. you get a death certificate. And the only thing that really matters is that dash on your tombstone in between. Tillie. let the work she has done speak for her because she has done a great job for our community. I was deeply saddened to hear of the sudden passing of my former colleague. Tillie Fowler. Myprayers and deepest regrets go out to her and her immediate family. Buck. and her two girls. Tillie Ann and Elizabeth. Tillie and I shared a lot in common. In fact. in 1992. v~e came up to Washington together as members of the same class of elected representatives. This class was so dynamic. and filled with so many new and soon to be influential women members. that it was referred to as "The Year of the Woman." One distinct adjective to describe Tillie is that she was a tremendous fighter. She struggled hard for what she believed in. and for the betterment of the people and tlie region she served. Above all. Tillie loved her country. and fought hard to protect the freedoms we enjoyeven the freedom to disagree. Tillie was a woman of great distinction. highly respected. and was always extremely active in her community. She served our country well. particularly in her strong support of. the military. specializing in issues concerning womens roles and rights within the military. She was also. a woman with strong leadership qualities and one who believed in the value of volunteerism and community service. I also served with Tillie on the Transportation Committee. and we crossed party lines numerous times to work together to do what was best for the city of Jacksonville and North Florida as a whole. In closing. my heart and prayers go out to Tillies dear family during this difficult time.