[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 140 (Friday, September 30, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 30, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        ROBERT LEE FULTON SIKES

  Mr. MACK. Mr. President, early Wednesday morning, America lost a 
remarkable son. Robert Lee Fulton Sikes was a citizen, businessman, 
father, and patriot who served the people of the Panhandle of Florida 
in the House of Representatives for 38 years.
  He cast a long shadow during his years in Washington, and continued 
to do so in the years following his retirement in 1978.
  It was a pleasure and an honor to have known Bob Sikes. His 
contributions to America and the State of Florida will endure through 
generations to come.
  He worked tirelessly to strengthen America's armed forces, serving as 
chairman of the Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee in 
order to provide for the needs of our men and women in uniform.
  An avid hunter, he loved the land of northwest Florida and is 
credited with creating the spectacularly beautiful Gulf Islands 
National Seashore.
  Bob Sikes was born 88 years ago in Isabella, GA, and he attended the 
University of Georgia where he studied agriculture and journalism. 
After receiving a master's degree in English from the University of 
Florida, he became a newspaper publisher in Crestview, FL.
  He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1940. He 
served in the Army Reserve, including a European tour during World War 
II while a Member of the House, and he eventually rose to the rank of 
major general.
  Congressman Sikes had a unique nickname, ``He-Coon,'' which later 
served as the title of his autobiography. He once explained the 
nickname, saying the He-Coon was a kind of leader. He knew where the 
food was and where to get the water.
  He was supposed to have been able to keep off his enemies and to 
protect his own. He was simply supposed to look after those around him 
who depended upon him. It would be hard to find a more fitting 
description of the feelings so many of his constituents held for their 
Congressman.
  I had the chance to witness that esteem firsthand a couple years ago 
when he escorted me around his beloved Crestview. The outpouring of 
love and respect for him from everybody we met was overwhelming.
  Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Joan, his son Robert, his 
daughter Bobbye, and his entire family. He served well the country he 
loved. To borrow a phrase I often heard him use, during his remarkable 
life Bob Sikes surely ``covered himself in glory.'' We will miss him.

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