Honoring Patricia Frances Eaton

HONORING PATRICIA FRANCES EATON -- (Extensions of Remarks - November 20, 2004)

SPEECH OF
HON. BARBARA LEE
OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2004

Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of myself and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton to honor the extraordinary life of Patricia Frances Eaton, a devoted teacher, advocate, humanitarian, and friend. Pat, who spent her life traveling the world to support those in need, passed away on October 22, 2004 in Arlington, Virginia. She is survived by her son, David Howard Kuria Eaton, her brother, Harold Eaton, Jr., her god-sister, Jean Chin Tapscott, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and loving friends.

Born on June 21, 1944 in Washington, D.C., Pat was the youngest of five children born to Harold and Ordee Scruggs Eaton. Following her studies at Palmer Memorial Institute and Howard University, Pat graduated from Texas Southern University with a B.A. in English in 1967. Upon her graduation, Pat became part of the first group of volunteers to travel to the newly independent southern Africa with the United States Peace Corps. Braving extreme weather conditions and relying on a horse as her only means of transportation, she lived in a Lesotho village for more than two years. During that time she grew to love the lands and people of the most remote regions of Africa, and her experience in the Peace Corps became the inspiration that she would draw upon in traveling through and working on behalf of Africa throughout the rest of her life.

Returning to the U.S. in 1970, Pat used her knowledge and experience to work as a volunteer to raise funds to start Africare, an organization dedicated to providing funds for water supply, health resources, and agricultural development in drought-stricken West Africa, or the Sahel. During this time, Pat worked as a teacher at McKinley High School, and also worked briefly for the D.C. government. She was later able to work full-time at Africare as its first Director of Communications and Chapter Development, a capacity in which she traveled across the country in order to identify and coordinate cities with development projects in the Sahel.

In the mid-1970s, Pat was recruited by the U.N. Development Program's newly established Women-In-Development project. Known for her expertise in working in rural and isolated villages in Africa, Pat was the ideal choice to work on this project, which sought to increase women's productivity through income-generating projects. Her background led also to later appointments as the Executive Director of the Black Women's Community Development Foundation, the Director for Africa of the Overseas Education Fund of the League of Women Voters, and various contract projects with USAID, the Peace Corps, and other groups. Pat's work in these areas led her to spend the better part of twenty years traveling through twenty-two African countries, often with few companions and little more than a single suitcase, but always with an eagerness for knowledge and full immersion within the culture of each group she encountered. Whether she was passing through the caves of Mali's Timbuktu, the pyramids of Egypt, or Zambia during the Rhodesian War and subsequent Lancaster conference, Pat lived as one with the African people whose lives she shared throughout her journey.

After returning to the United States in 1983 for the birth of her son, David, Pat took a position as the Director of West Africa for the D.C.-based African Development Foundation. In 1986, she made the decision to settle in the U.S., and began teaching English again, this time at Wilson Senior High. Later advancing to the position of Director of the school's International Studies Program, Pat drew upon the richness of her experiences abroad not only to encourage students to seek out knowledge and understanding of foreign affairs and cultures, but also to encourage career exploration in the international arena, especially among minority students.

On November 20, 2004, Patricia Eaton will be honored in Washington, D.C. for the impact her life and work has had on her students in the U.S., the people who came to know her in Africa through her decades of work there, and everyone else who has been fortunate enough to have her in their lives. On this day we take time not only to honor her memory, but also to give thanks for the spirit of giving and mutual understanding that shaped her work in life, and that will continue to impact the lives of future generations for years to come. On behalf of the 9th Congressional District and the District of Columbia, we salute the life and work of Pat Eaton. Her example is a true inspiration, and she will be greatly missed by all.