[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.

       

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