[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 107 (Friday, July 25, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H5806-H5807]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING THE LIFE OF TOM ROGERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Arkansas [Mr. Dickey] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DICKEY. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to honor the life of Tom 
Rogers. He passed away on August 24, 1994, in his hometown of Moline, 
IL, at the age of 60. He was the son of Howard and Helen Rogers and was 
survived by his wife Kera, who he married on July 12, 1992, and his 
brother, John Rogers.
  This was all said in his obituary, but more needs to be said about 
his life and more needs to be said by three of us in this body who will 
stand on the floor of the House of Representatives today to say good 
things about Tom Rogers. Why? Because he was a special, special person 
who touched the lives of so many people and of us, and countless 
others. He even touched our lives as we watched him touching the lives 
of others.
  He was not an elected official. He never ran for office. He never 
accomplished what we would call great things. He was not wealthy or 
rich, but he lived a life that was an example to all who knew him and 
knew people who knew him.
  In September, 1953, at the age of 19 Tom Rogers contracted polio. He 
was paralyzed from the neck down and had serious respiratory problems. 
I knew Tom and our families were close. He was a 6 foot 2 strapping guy 
who had boundless energy, and had just finished his first year at 
Cornell University.
  Since I was 6 years his junior, he was one of my heroes. But I did 
not know at that time what I would learn later, how brave he was, how 
determined, and what a great character this man would display in the 
next 41 years.
  He set goals; he organized his life; he prepared for a new career. He 
adapted his life's philosophy. He signed on as a believer in God's son, 
Jesus Christ, and generally got on with his life, however bleak it 
looked back in the 1950's.
  In the process he never was tempted to feel sorry for himself, and he 
could have in the following ways: Just within the next year after his 
contracting polio, the Salk vaccine was developed, but he never dwelt 
on ``what if''. He never complained that he could not walk, or talk 
without great effort, or function without mechanical aids or nurses.
  He never talked about his condition, his disability, or his 
frustration. I

[[Page H5807]]

know. I tried several times to get him to talk about those things, but 
he would not. The comments we made about his disability were deflected 
ever so graciously.
  He was cheerful and inquisitive. As he continually deflected 
attention away from his condition, he constantly talked to others about 
what was important to them. Only one other person, in my opinion, was 
as good as Tom was in this regard, and his name was Sam Walton, a great 
man, also.
  Tom's mind was both like a sponge and a steel trap. He was a person 
of good humor. As a young boy he came running into the house one day 
after having heard an orchestra and said to his mother, ``Mom, I just 
heard a parade sitting down.''
  Tom became a successful investment banker, and in the context of the 
language of his profession, he once said that in the marriage 
corporation that he bought into with his lovely wife, Kera, that his 50 
percent shares were all issued non-voting. In discussing his investment 
in the racehorse business, he stated once that what he found out early 
was that slow horses ate as much as fast ones.
  He was smart and he loved children. My four kids came into contact 
with Tom in the summer days when they were little. A special time for 
them was when Tom came over to eat. After dinner he would line up 
pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters, as well as my kids. He would 
then ask them history question after history question, deciding on the 
basis of difficulty as against the age of the child what level the 
rewards for a correct question might be. His knowledge of history was 
complete and far-ranging, and my children would be riveted on Tom and 
his command of the facts of history.
  Tom built a constituency, which is a good term for politicians to 
use, with the people who helped him. He was completely paralyzed. 
Looking back, it was never a factor to us, but he was completely 
paralyzed. He could not move anything but his head, so he had to depend 
on people.
  A good friend, after his death, started a list of all the people who 
pushed Tom's wheelchair, drove his van, typed for him, cooked for him, 
bathed him, combed his hair, placed calls for him, and other things. 
Seventy-five names went on the first list, each of those people all 
becoming his friend and admirer. He always left people better off than 
they were before--it was an incredible skill and gift.
  One of his favorites of the pushers, as we called them, was Jim 
Rosborough, who is now an assistant basketball coach in the fabulously 
successful University of Arizona basketball program. He loved to see 
Jim on television, and Tom talked about him constantly. Jim's letter to 
me and to others after the funeral showed what Jim thought of Tom and 
how close and sincere that relationship was.
  His politics: He seemed to be a Republican, but he was not a fanatic. 
On a letter 10 years before I entered politics he taped a dime to a 
sheet of paper and sent it to me as my first campaign contribution. He 
was always giving me advice, and reminding me that he had also elected 
to the House his close boyhood friend, Tom Railsback.
  He was a bumper sticker lover, on his wheelchair, no less, first with 
mine, but after my election he put Representative Richard Burr's bumper 
sticker on top of mine, never getting my permission, of course. Richard 
was then elected, so Tom could say he elected two of his friends to the 
House.
  He could also lay claim to electing the Honorable Jim Leach of Iowa 
to the House. He spoke of Jim in the most respectful terms, and in some 
of the papers they found after his death this sentence was set out. 
``Had lunch with Jim Leach, I am impressed. I will stuff ballot boxes 
for him whenever necessary.'' They say that only happens in the South.
  Talking to Tom about his relationship with God was a little like 
talking to him about his polio. Not much did he say, but he lived a 
great deal of it.
  As already stated, He had a relationship with God's son, Jesus 
Christ, and though he would never say so about his own life, a casual 
observer could readily see this in his actions. His life was led 
exactly as the Bible lays it out.
  Now why are the three of us standing up here, taking floor time to 
speak of this man?
  Maybe it's because we need to let Tom's life encourage more people, 
not only people who are disabled, but all people. If the United 
States--no, the world--could be inhabited by people like Tom Rogers, we 
would have less problems, we would have a world full of people who 
would want to work hard to prepare themselves, no matter what the 
obstacle, to be better each day. We would have more love, we would have 
more respect for good manners, and just plain decency. We would have 
more humor and laughter--much needed qualities in a much too serious 
world.
  There's no way a person could know Tom Rogers and not love him and 
receive love from him.
  Here's what he had to say about his life: ``My life is close to 
perfection.'' ``I would not have changed my life for anything.''
  Reminiscent of Lou Gherig when he stood at Yankee Stadium, his body 
dying from disease and said, ``I consider myself the luckiest guy on 
the face of the earth!''
  On August 24, 1994, my son Ted and I left a contested campaign to go 
to Tom's funeral, having been to that same church two year's earlier, 
also in the midst of a campaign for his wedding. We went to share the 
joy the first time and to show respect the second time. The people at 
his funeral were wonderful folks--laughing, telling stories about Tom 
and sharing the grief. What a tribute--but what was really significant 
was that inside the church right up front an orchestra was playing--a 
parade sitting down--only fitting.
  A lot of the same people of Moline will gather in their city tomorrow 
to have a groundbreaking for the Thomas W. Rogers Visitor's Center on 
Sylvan Island, an island in the waters of the Mississippi. We hope 
today to add a little to their tribute and maybe bring a little to the 
expression of love for Tom that is wrapped up in this event.
  Such pleasure in preparing this little talk; it has done me good just 
to reflect on his life.
  The summers will never be the same for me and my family, for we will 
no longer see Tom on earth, but soon I will see him in Heaven, and 
he'll look like that strapping 19-year-old that I remember and he will 
probably say to me, ``Dickey--that's the way they talk to people in the 
North--come on we got things to get done, don't think for a minute we 
sit still up here.''
  To join me in their remarks are Tom's good friend Representative Jim 
Leach of Iowa and Representative Richard Burr of North Carolina.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman from Arkansas [Mr. 
Dickey] has expired.
  Mr. DICKEY. I ask unanimous consent for additional time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair cannot entertain that request 
during the 5-minute period, so the gentleman's time has expired.

                          ____________________