[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 93 (Friday, June 27, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6781-S6782]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           KIRSTEN FROHNMAYER

 Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Mr. President, I rise today to pay 
tribute to the remarkable life of Kirsten Frohnmayer. Kirsten, the 
daughter of University of Oregon president Dave Frohnmayer and his wife 
Lynn, died last week after a courageous battle with Fanconi anemia, a 
rare genetic disease that also claimed the life of her sister, Katie.
  Kirsten lived much of her 24 years on Earth with the knowledge that 
she was battling a vicious disease. Yet she never gave up, and she 
never allowed herself to wallow in despair. Rather, as her family and 
friends have testified, she maintained an optimistic spirit that 
inspired countless men, women, and children. Kirsten also willingly 
volunteered to undergo experimental medical procedures, in hopes that 
others with the same disease might benefit from what doctors learned 
through the procedure.
  Mr. President, the Eugene Register Guard recently published an 
eloquent tribute to Kirsten which contains her own inspiring words. I 
ask that this tribute be printed in the Record immediately following my 
remarks.
  Mr. President, let me conclude by simply saying that the entire State 
of Oregon joins with me in extending our thoughts and prayers to the 
entire Frohnmayer family.
  The tribute follows:

[[Page S6782]]

            [From the Eugene Register Guard, June 23, 1997]

                                Kirsten

       In her graduation speech at South Eugene High School six 
     years ago this month, Kirsten Frohnmayer said: ``My family 
     jokes that by having this serious health problem, we provide 
     an important community service. We remind people that things 
     in their own lives may not be as bad as they seem.''
       That was no joke. Following the joys and sorrows of the 
     Frohnmayer family has been a community activity here for more 
     than two decades. Their lives are at least more instructive 
     than soap operas. Kirsten's own story, her cheerfully 
     determined battle against a mysterious disease with a strange 
     name and a lethal record, has been particularly gripping.
       But not all stories have happy endings. This one is 
     particularly sad because all of us were rooting so hard, 
     hoping against hope. The community genuinely grieves with the 
     Frohnmayers, as in some degree does the whole state.
       At 24, mentally and spiritually Kirsten had done more 
     living than many people twice her age. She had an immense 
     capacity for life. Partly because of her disease, she had a 
     keen appreciation for each day's possibilities.
       Her positive outlook calls to mind the obituary editorial 
     famed Kansas editor William Allen White wrote 76 years ago 
     after his own 16-year-old daughter was killed in a freak 
     riding accident: ``Her humor was a continual bubble of joy. . 
     . . No angel was Mary White, but an easy girl to live with, 
     for she never nursed a grouch five minutes in her life.''
       On the list of personal tragedies to which humankind is 
     vulnerable, the death of a child must rank at the top. It 
     does not matter whether the child is struck by a limb while 
     riding her horse or is worn down over many years and finally 
     defeated by a vicious disease; the loss is tremendously hard 
     to bear.
       Hearts go out to David and Lynn Frohnmayer and to Kirsten's 
     three remaining siblings. But we know, too, that they will 
     manage, because they are blessed with intelligence and 
     strength of spirit--and because they understand the wisdom of 
     what Kirsten told her classmates at the close of her remarks 
     in 1991:
       ``A final thought I'd like to share with you tonight is my 
     belief that sometimes we should live for the day. Too often 
     life consists of anticipation of the future or regrets about 
     the past. But we can't change the past, and we don't know 
     what the future will hold. So, at least some of the time, we 
     should concentrate on the present. Whatever path you've 
     chosen, whether you're talking about college, a job, 
     volunteer work, or family, you're talking about life and life 
     must be fun. Find the fun in life, for as Ferris Bueller said 
     on his day off, `life moves pretty fast, and if you don't 
     stop and look around once in a while, you are going to miss 
     it.'
       ``So . . . I hope that you will remember to appreciate and 
     protect what you have, be optimistic and constructive in the 
     face of adversity, and stop to smell the roses. Good night 
     and good luck.''

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