[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 143 (Monday, October 21, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S12439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO THORTON STEARNS

 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I am pleased to offer 
congratulations to Thorton Stearns, a graduate of the Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology and longtime resident of Winchester, MA, who is 
the first recipient of the Eugene Joseph McCarthy Philanthropist of the 
Year Award, presented by Winchester Hospital.
  For more than 15 years, Mr. Stearns has generously supported the 
hospital's philanthropic efforts. He has embodied the spirit of 
philanthropy of Mr. Eugene McCarthy. Mr. McCarthy was a quiet, private, 
but generous man who upon his passing left Winchester Hospital and 
numerous other charities a $1 million bequest.
  Thorton Stearns, known affectionately to the staff of Winchester 
Hospital as ``Thorny,'' has served the hospital as a corporator. He has 
acknowledged that his philanthropy has a component of self-interest, 
having said, ``I have used the hospital and I might need its services 
again; therefore, it is important that I support the hospital 
financially.''
  Now chairman of the Vacuum Barrier Corp., which he founded in 1958, 
Thorton Stearns continues to be an active member of the Winchester 
community. I am pleased to recognize his efforts on behalf of 
Winchester Hospital and wish to congratulate him on being chosen as the 
first recipient of its Philanthropist of the Year Award.

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