[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 7 (Wednesday, February 2, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: February 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO PENNY GERMAN
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, the unexpected and untimely death of
Penny German, who was a member of my staff, was a blow not only to her
family but also to her long-time friends and colleagues in the Senate
and in the Pentagon.
A quiet, capable, and very kind woman, Penny worked closely with me
and my staff during her years on the Defense Appropriations
Subcommittee, and continued her friendship and associations with us
when she moved over to the Pentagon to be an assistant to Sean O'Keefe,
first when he was Comptroller of the Pentagon and then when he became
Secretary of the Navy.
Penny returned to my staff when Sean left the Secretary's post to
join the faculty at Penn State University. She then moved over to the
minority staff of the Senate Rules Committee. When she left that office
on Friday, January 21, she smiled and said she would see us on Monday.
But on Monday morning, Penny did not wake up from her sleep.
Former Navy Secretary Sean O'Keefe delivered a moving tribute to
Penny to the large crowd that braved icy roads to attend her memorial
service last week.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that remarks of former
Secretary of the Navy O'Keefe be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the remarks were ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
In Memory of Penelope Sullivan German, Delivered by Sean O'Keefe, Jan.
27. 1994
I am sure that as Penny smiles down on us, she is
particularly delighted that none less than Father Bill
George, S.J. is the guest celebrant at her memorial service
today. Fr. George, as most on Capitol Hill know, is
considered the father Confessor to all Appropriators. As
such, he is particularly busy cleric as we can attest to.
Thank you for being here Padre.
It is also a particularly appropriate touch that an Irish
piper is here with us today given Penny's sincere ethnic
pride. No doubt, Penny is taken with this touch--to your
great credit Lewis, as I wish I could say it was my idea.
We must be honest with ourselves at this important service.
This gathering is meant for us to grieve for ourselves, for
Penny is off to a better place. This is our chance to purge
our souls and express our sense of sorrow that we are denied
the friendship of a lovely and marvelous human being that we
knew to be Penny German.
But I invite you to fatalistic ally ponder with me, for a
moment, the nature of the hereafter. Many of us prescribe to
the particularly Celtic notion that the hereafter is defined
by the bearer. If that is true, there is little doubt that
Penny is busy acting in accord with the way she lived her
life--there are no strangers, just friends she hasn't met
yet.
I am certain that she is taken by all who have braved the
miserable weather to be here today, from the Hill, the
Pentagon, and her many friends that she grew up with here or
she came to know here in Maryland. By her definition of the
hereafter, she is doubtless surrounded by friends she cares
about, attending to all to be sure they are made to feel
important. No one knows that better than Lewis. You have both
been so devoted to each other.
John Kennedy once defined Irish charm as the ability to
convince whoever he was with that they were both wonderful
people. Penny exhibited that sense of charm in a way that I
had never witnessed before.
In testimonial to the point, I recall a friend calling me
once who went on and on about what an extraordinary pleasant
person he thought Penny to be. In fact, it took him at least
a week to realize that he had not accomplished his objective
with me--but he nonetheless felt quite good about the
experience of having tried. What a gift she had!
I always marveled of such recountances. I have aspired to
be half as good the Irish politician that Penny has been on a
bad day! I shall count myself successful when I reach that
half way point.
Penny always made a profound impression on people she had
known for a short time or as long time. Professional
associates from the Pentagon or the Capitol Hill can attest
to the same--and she instilled strong friendship and loyalty
in all.
She could always find the best in a bad situation as well.
What best comes to mind was her light hearted observations of
the torrent of what she called ``budget words'' that seemed
to spew forth from others whenever tempers flaired. She
always found a way to neutralize tense situations.
To call her a ``dedicated public servant'' is a poor
understatement. She cared passionately for the
professionalism of her duties and carried them out more
adroitly than anyone I have ever known. She treated her
career with the government as an avocation and treated it
accordingly.
But most of all, she always selflessly dedicated herself to
those around her and made life for all of us around her more
pleasant and more fun. God knows, she always made me look
better than I am, and I have always been grateful for her
selfless loyalty and friendship.
I have little doubt that my friend Penny feels a sense of
warmth and affection that she wants to express to those here
assembled as well as those she's ever known. We may only
begin to understand and capture the depth of her sentiment by
the traditional Irish prayer:
May the road rise up to meet you;
May the wind be always at your back;
May the sun shine softly upon you; and until we meet again;
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
. . . may Gold bless you, Penny.
____________________