Recognizing Mr. Robert ``bob'' Boyer

Floor Speech

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Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor and I am privileged to recognize Mr. Robert ``Bob'' Boyer of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, upon the blessed and auspicious occasion of his 102nd Birthday.

Mr. Boyer was born on March 13, 1924, in Harrisburg, by the lock on the Susquehanna River. Sickly as an infant, he was sent to live with his grandmother in Carlisle, where he was nursed back to health.

While he was in 10th grade, Bob's family purchased a farm near Middlesex, and he quit school to help get the farm going. While he enjoyed spending time with the cows and donkeys, money was tight--as it was for many Depression-era families--and for a time, they lived only off of goat's milk.

In 1948, Bob and a friend were at the roller-rink, where he saw a beautiful girl--about whom he told his friend: ``I'm going to marry that girl!'' Well, ``that girl'' became his wife, Beulah (Be-Be), when they eloped six months later. Be-Be grew up on a farm and hated farm work; she vowed she would never marry a farmer, but not long after they married, Bob rented a farm from his father, and Be-Be helped by doing one of her least favorite chores--milking cows--and she kept the books for the farm.

In 1959, Bob purchased his own farm in Carlisle, where he farmed for more than 30 years, raised their three daughters, and a foster child for four years. After selling the farm in 1967, Bob started his own business, Agriservice, in 1969, from which he would deliver farm supplies to local farmers. Amazing with numbers, Bob remembered everything he bought for the company, how much he paid for it, and how much profit he made.

In 1988, Bob sold Agriservice and purchased a junkyard, where he sold scrap metal to the United States Military for Operation Desert Storm. It took him six years to clean out the property, after which he sold part of the land to his great-granddaughter.

Bob and Be-Be love to travel and do so whenever they can. In 1967, Bob bought a sedan on a whim and took the family on a summer trip to California, stopping at every National Park along the way. On another occasion in Alaska, Bob and Be-Be slept in the back of their truck because there were no motels in the remote area they were visiting.

Bob and Be-Be have been married for a blessed and astonishing 73 years. From their three daughters, they have seven grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and are expecting the imminent birth of their first great-great-grandchild this year. Before they moved into Silver Spring Personal Care Home, they lived in a small home from 1989 to November of 2025.

Mr. Speaker, I am so greatly humbled and honored to recognize Mr. Robert Boyer on the blessed and truly amazing occasion of his 102nd Birthday. His life truly epitomizes that of ``The Greatest Generation'' and of a life done right--as evidenced by his wife, Be-Be, his family and friends who love him dearly, and the countless people whose lives he has touched and affected in myriad ways. He sets the standard by which all should be judged, and I wish him continued God's blessings.

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