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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Roosevelt Early, a veteran
high school educator from Crossett, Arkansas who died at the age of 72
on February 26, 2006. I wish to recognize his lifetime of dedication
to public education and the City of Crossett.
A native of West Helena, Arkansas, Mr. Early earned a bachelor’s degree
at Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical, and Normal College, now the University
of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), where he played football and sang in
the choir. Mr. Early also attended the University of Central Arkansas
where he received a master’s degree.
Moving to Crossett in 1958, Mr. Early spent nearly a half century as
a public school educator at T.W. Daniel and Crossett School District.
He began as a shop teacher at T. W. Daniel High School in 1958 and rose
to the post of Assistant Principal of T. W. Daniel Middle School in 1973,
and Principal two short years later of T.W. Daniel High School. Following
his tenure at T. W. Daniel, Mr. Early served as Principal at Norman Junior
High School beginning in 1980 and Crossett High School in 1985.
Mr. Early was active throughout the Ashley County community. He
served as Director of the E. C. Crossett Community Center, President of
the UAPB Ashley County Alumni Association and was a member of the Ashley
County Medical Center Board of Directors, Ashley County Martin Luther King
Planning Commission, Phi Delta Kappa Educational Society, Georgia-Pacific
Planning Commission, the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators,
the Arkansas Association of Secondary Principals, Crossett Classroom Teachers
Association, Arkansas Education Association and the National Education
Association.
As a man of faith, Mr. Early served as Chairman of the Deacon Board
at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church and Chairman of the Trustee Board.
The Roosevelt Early Memorial Scholarship was started shortly after his
death to commemorate and honor the impact he made as an educator at Crossett
High School.
As the son of public school educators, I believe there are few jobs
more noble than that of educating our nation’s children. Mr. Early
spent a lifetime dedicated to this end. I extend my deepest condolences
to his wife of 48 years, Lendora; his daughters, Cassandra and Patricia;
his brother, David; his sisters, Thelma, Iola, and Alma, and his grandchildren,
Kenyellshia and Chase. Though Mr. Early may no longer be with
us, his spirit and legacy will live on for generations to come. |
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