[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 24, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S340-S341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MARY BRENNAN'S PUBLIC SERVICE
Mr. PELL. Mr. President, I rise to share with my colleagues the
wonderful example of Mary P. Brennan, an extraordinary woman who
combined the best qualities of politics and public service.
Mary Brennan, who retired last month as marketing director for Green
State Airport after an extraordinary career in politics and public
service, lost her battle with breast cancer earlier this month.
In a time when politicians and public servants are the targets of
unusually harsh criticism, Mary was a sterling example of how some
people were created to ennoble both politics and public service.
If you knew Mary, you felt special. It did not matter if your station
were high or low, you received the warmth of her charm, the depth of
her compassion and the inspiration of her ``can do'' spirit.
When she retired after 11 years as marketing director at Green State
Airport, it was noted that often she would take 30 minutes to make her
way across the airport terminal because she would bump into so many
people she knew.
All who knew her, whether in her earlier job as executive aide to
former Gov. J. Joseph Garrahy or her most recent job as marketing
director, knew that she would put in 150 percent effort.
When asked why she worked so hard for so many people, Mary replied:
``If you care about people, you want to service them to the utmost. You
start something right, you finish it right.''
She was loyal to public service and she valued loyalty above all
other virtues. ``When you make a commitment to someone,'' she said,
``you keep it.''
Mr. President, we will miss Mary tremendously in Rhode Island. I will
think of her when I fly into Rhode Island. It also is easy to hark back
to an earlier decade and picture her hard at work in the Rhode Island
State House.
Governor Garrahy delivered a heart-felt eulogy that I would like to
share with my colleagues. I ask unanimous consent that his remarks and
obituaries from the Providence, RI, Journal and the Woonsocket, RI,
Call be printed in the Record as if read.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Remarks by Former Rhode Island Gov. J. Joseph Garrahy
Mary Brennan--say her name and you are guaranteed to smile.
That's because her warmth, her care, her enthusiastic
approach to life was contagious. She touched us all.
I can think of no higher honor than to have been asked to
speak about my friend, our friend, Mary. My single regret is
that I have to do this so soon, so early.
Like all of you, I have a special place in my heart
reserved for Mary. She caught my attention 30 years ago and
will forever hold it.
To know Mary was to know all the Brennans an the
Partingtons, because special above everyone was her family.
She came from such solid stock--Bumpsie and Mumsie. At the
wonderful age of 91, it was Mumsie who cared for the daughter
who loved her so. And boy if there were ever two peas in a
pod, it was Mary and Mumsy. We admire your strength Mumsy and
your faith. A faith that Mary carried with her throughout her
life.
And Mary had a special sisterly bond with her brothers Bill
and John. She would defend and care for them and they for
her.
Her pride and joy were her two sons--Brian and Sean. She
used to say how much like John, Brian was. And boy was she
beaming last April at his and Sally's wedding. Sean was with
her every step of the way--she was so proud of his work in
Alaska and Hawaii and encouraged him to follow his dream.
Typical Mary--always selfless.
They were blessed to have her. And, we were all blessed
because Mary made us part of her extended family. She adopted
each of us and we were better for it. A special thanks to
Little Lynne who adopted Mary and was a great comfort in her
final days.
All of us could easily be overwhelmed by grief of our great
loss. Or we can proceed as Mary would have us--remembering
our special times together and understanding what a special
woman she was.
Mary has affected more lives than any newspaper report can
ever catalogue. Each of us carries memories and stories of
how Mary affected us. Every one of my days as Governor could
be footnoted with a Mary Brennan story. Whether is was the
difficult days of the oil crisis or celebrating RI's true
ethnic diversity at one heritage celebration or another, or
planning a President's visit, welcoming the most needy
citizen in the State Room or working hour after hour during
the Blizzard to get food and heat to the stranded, Mary was
always there. She could even convince a group of angry voters
that I was good, even if I wasn't right!
And I am convinced that were it not for Mary's wise counsel
to Lynne Ryan--she and Michael would not be raising a family
today. I can hear her words of advice, ``Lynne, be patient.
He's Irish!''
Service to others was Mary's hallmark. An honorable
devoted, and selfless public servant. From her early days
running her own travel agency to the Heritage years and
nearly a decade in the Governor's Office to her airport,
travel and tourism time, Mary continuously served others. She
would say ``if you care about people, you want to service
them to the utmost.'' We all have a story of how Mary
extended herself to each of us.
[[Page S341]]
It didn't matter who you were, if you needed help, she was
there. Her generosity knew no bounds.
All of us here today are a testimony to her life. Mary was
as at ease with Governors, Bishops and Generals as she was
with the regular folk. Individually, each of us represents a
part of her life.
Well Mary, you have made our lives richer--serving as a
teacher of how to treat people and have a passion for life.
You made the world better because you have passed through it.
Although most didn't have a chance to say goodbye, every
time you left Mary, your heart was a little warmer because
you left with a piece of her heart.
As we help Mary to her rest today--close your eyes and
think of how good Mary always made you feel about yourself.
Think of how Mary made you feel as if no one else in the
world mattered but you.
Think of how Mary helped to make us work harder and be
better than we ever thought we could be.
Close your eyes and think of how many times Mary got you to
do the right thing--even when you didn't want to do it--and
then made you believe it was your idea all along.
How fortunate are we, each one of us, to have been a part
of Mary Brennan's life. We always felt safe with Mary. We
knew that if anything went wrong Mary was there to fix it--to
insure that things worked smoothly.
Now we are on our own. Sadness fills us today. But we are
better because of Mary. We have smiled more because of Mary.
And we will carry forward because that's what Mary would
want.
And we can be happy for Mary that she is reunited with her
Johnny. John Brennan who Mary so cherished.
Mike Ryan and I visited with Mary last Friday and she
recalled the last book that John was working on before he
passed away. She said she had to finish it to make the
collection complete. Some of you may know that during my
years as Governor, John Brennan painstakingly cut and
catalogued a newspaper history of my terms of office.
Well John's been hard at work; cutting and cataloguing
Mary's good deeds, her kindness, her courage and her love for
her family. And John will make certain that St. Peter reads
every single volume.
We love you Mary and we thank God for giving you to us.
____
[From the Providence Journal, Jan. 12, 1996]
Mary P. Brennan, Former Director of Airport Marketing, Dies at 62
Cumberland.--Mary P. Brennan, 62, who retired last month as
marketing director for Green State Airport, died yesterday in
Rhode Island Hospital.
Mrs. Brennan, who lived at 2 Hewes St., had been suffering
from breast cancer.
She was the wife of the late John P. Brennan and the
daughter of Mae Partington of Cumberland and the late Willard
Partington.
Eugene Tansey, director of the state Airport Corporation,
recalled on the occasion of Mrs. Brennan's retirement that it
often would take her 30 minutes to make her way across the
terminal because she would bump into so many people she knew.
``She knows everybody,'' Tansey remarked. ``You can hear
people yelling across the floor, `Mary, Mary!' ''
Linda Fischer worked with Mrs. Brennan when the two were
executive aides to Gov. J. Joseph Garrahy. She recalled Mrs.
Brennan as a stickler for detail.
``You'd always turn to her and you knew exactly what you
asked would be done,'' Fischer said in an interview last
month with M. Charles Bakst, Journal-Bulletin political
columnist. ``There was never a time limit to the hours she
would put in.''
Mike Ryan, who served Garrahy as press secretary, said Mrs.
Brennan always put in 150 percent of effort.
When asked why she worked so hard for so many years, she
said, ``If you care about people, you want to service them to
the utmost.'' She said also that if ``you start something
right, you finish it right.''
She said she valued loyalty above all other virtues. ``When
you make a commitment to someone, you keep it,'' she said.
Garrahy said her loyalty was to public service, and people
came to depend upon her for that. ``She was a public
servant,'' the former governor said.
Mrs. Brennan was appointed to the Greater Providence-
Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau, but her tenure there
fell prey to politics in November when both Mayor Vincent A.
Cianci Jr. of Providence and Governor Almond sought her vote
to break a tie in a struggle over whether Cianci or Almond
would control the panel.
Mrs. Brennan was a state employee, but her brother, John J.
Partington, was director of public safety for Cianci. She
resolved the matter by resigning.
She also leaves another brother, Bill Partington, also of
Cumberland, and two sons, Brian Brennan of Warwick and Sean
Brennan of Cumberland.
The J.J. Duffy Funeral Home, 757 Mendon Rd., Cumberland, is
handling funeral arrangements, which were incomplete last
night.
____
[From the Woonsocket, RI, Call, Jan. 12, 1996]
Mary P. Brennan; Leader in State, Charity Concerns
Cumberland.--Mrs. Mary P. (Partington) Brennan, 62, of 75
Hewes St., an executive in state positions for 25 years, died
yesterday in Rhode Island Hospital, Providence. She was the
wife of the late John P. Brennan.
Born Sept. 24, 1933, in Cumberland, a daughter of Mary C.
(Hogan) Partington of Cumberland and the late Willard F.
Partington, she was a lifelong town resident. She graduated
from St. Xavier's Academy, Providence, in 1951 and the Ward
Finishing School, Worcester, in 1954.
Mrs. Brennan was the marketing director for 11 years for
the Rhode Island Airport Corp. at T.F. Green State Airport,
Warwick, retiring last month.
Before that she was a station manager for Mohawk-Allegheny
(USAir)--the first woman to hold that position in the
country--at Logan Airport, Boston, from 1954 to 1960; owner
of the Tradewinds Travel Agency, Providence, from 1960 to
1963; state coordinator of the Bicentennial celebration from
1971 to 1976; and an executive aide to Gov. J. Joseph Garrahy
until 1984.
Mrs. Brennan recently was chairwoman of the Rhode Island
Infrastructure Committee of the White House Conference on
Travel/Tourism. She had served as chairwoman of the
Governor's Advisory Council on Tourism, Discover New England
and the Foundation for the Promotion of State Cultural
Heritage; vice chairwoman of the Rhode Island Heritage
Commission; vice president of New England USA Travel and
Tourism; and a member of several other tourism organizations
and commissions. She received the Governor's Award on Tourism
in 1987.
She also contributed her time and experience to the Rhode
Island 350th Celebration, Tall Ships Task Force, America's
Cup Task Force, National and New England Governors
conferences, Rhode Island Historical Society, Save the Bay
and the January 1995 Inaugural Committee. She was president
of the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.
Active in health and charity concerns, Mrs. Brennan led the
Catholic Charity Fund Appeal for the state in 1988 and held
memberships in numerous groups, including the Muscular
Dystrophy Association, Leukemia Society, Rhode Island Cancer
Coalition, Rhode Island Lung Association and Rhode Island
Blood Center.
She was a member of the parish council at St. Patrick
Church and past president of its Women's Club. She was a
member of the Cumberland Crime Stoppers, Greater Providence
Chamber of Commerce and the Girl Scouts of Rhode Island
fundraising program.
Mrs. Brennan's wide-ranging efforts were recognized with
many awards. In 1983 she received the Cumberland Business
Association's Person of the Year award, the Italian
Historical Society's Citizen award and the City of Newport's
Civitas award.
The Papal Medal of the Cross was conferred on her in 1989,
and the YWCA of Rhode Island deemed her its Outstanding Woman
of 1995. She also has been cited by the Muscular Dystrophy
Association, Leukemia Society, American Association of
Retired Persons and the National Federation of the Blind.
She also is survived by two sons, Brian Brennan of Warwick
and Sean Brennan of Cumberland; and two brothers, Providence
Commissioner of Public Safety and former Cumberland Police
Chief John J. Partington and Willard F. ``Bill'' Partington,
both of Cumberland.
A Mass will be celebrated tomorrow at 11 a.m. at the
Cathedral of SS, Peter and Paul, Cathedral Square,
Providence. Burial will be in Resurrection Cemetery.
Arrangements are under the direction of the J.J. Duffy
Funeral Home, 757 Mendon Road.
____________________