[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 189 (Wednesday, November 29, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S17824]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE LATE REV. RICHARD HALVERSON

  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, our Senate family lost one of our finest 
and most respected members yesterday with the passing of the former 
Senate Chaplain, Reverend Richard Halverson.
  As many in this body know, Reverend Halverson ministered to the 
spiritual needs of Senators, our families, and our staffs for many 
years. A man who was deeply devoted to his duties as a servant of God, 
and to his congregation, Reverend Halverson selflessly served the 
Senate and the Lord almost literally to the end of his life. Despite a 
lingering illness in his later years, the Reverend was never too tired 
or sick to spend time with someone who required his guidance and 
counsel. He was a man who always had a kind word and a positive thought 
to share with us. I remember, Reverend Halverson would often clip 
newspaper and magazine articles that he felt were particularly relevant 
to the issues of religion and morality and send them to Members. Along 
with these articles, he would include a thoughtful note offering his 
opinion on the author's thesis, a gesture that not only reminded us 
that the Reverend was looking after our spiritual well being, but that 
there are laws and directives as important as those found in the 
Constitution and code books that should dictate our behavior and 
conduct as leaders of the Nation. Reverend Halverson was so committed 
to the cause of restoring and maintaining righteousness in America, he 
was the only natural choice to author the foreward to the book Right 
vs. Wrong, written by my good friend and former Chief of Staff, Harry 
Dent.
  I had the pleasure of knowing Reverend Halverson throughout his 
entire tenure in the Senate, and I can attest that he was one of the 
most faithful, capable, and dedicated Chaplains to have served the 
United States Senate. Those of us who were here when Reverend Halverson 
retired last year felt this Chamber had lost a friend, those of us who 
are here today know the world has lost a kind and compassionate man.
  Reverend Halverson is survived by his wife Doris, and I hope that she 
knows that each of us joins her in mourning the loss of her husband. 
While her husband and our friend is gone, he has left a little 
something of himself with those who knew him and we will never forget 
the service he rendered, or the man he was.

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