[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 114 (Wednesday, September 3, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1645-E1646]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN MEMORY OF WALTER D. RAMSAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. THOMAS J. MANTON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 3, 1997

  Mr. MANTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate Mr. Walter D. Ramsay, 
an outstanding individual whose untimely passing will be felt and 
mourned by many in Washington.
  Walt Ramsay, an independent consultant for the precious metals 
industry and a former long-time administrative assistant to Senator 
Harrison A. Williams of New Jersey, succumbed to lung cancer early 
yesterday morning at Inova Hospital in Alexandria, VA. I know my 
colleagues will join me in offering condolences to his wife, Leslie 
Sorg Ramsay, his son, Sean Ramsay, and his other family members and 
many, many friends.
  Mr. Speaker, I consider myself very lucky to have had the good 
fortune to meet Walt shortly after coming to Congress. I was equally 
blessed with the opportunity of getting to know him better over the 
years. As a lobbyist, he did not have any issues of concern which came 
under the jurisdiction of any of my committee assignments, or, at 
least, any that he felt compelled to raise with me, yet he was always a 
friendly face in the office. His many stories and anecdotes, as well as 
his keen political insight, always made him a welcome participant and a 
joy to speak to at any office gathering.
  Mr. Speaker, quite simply, Walt Ramsay was the best of men. He was 
intelligent and wise, kind and good natured, friendly and humorous, 
stoic and humble, and, of course, he was Irish. He will be missed.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that an obituary which appeared 
in the New Jersey Star-Ledger be placed in the Record.

            [From the New Jersey Star Ledger, Sept. 3, 1997]

                Walter D. Ramsay, 62, Congressional Aide

                           (By Robert Cohen)

       Washington.--Walter D. Ramsay, longtime chief of staff to 
     former New Jersey Sen. Harrison A. Williams and the mentor to 
     many young Capitol Hill aides, died yesterday after a battle 
     with cancer. He was 62.
       Ramsay first came to Washington in 1969 as Williams' press 
     secretary and later took over as his top aide, navigating the 
     legislative and political waters for the senator on Capitol 
     Hill while keeping his finger on the pulse of politics back 
     home in New Jersey.
       White House press secretary Mike McCurry, who got his start 
     working under Ramsay in Williams' Senate office, said he was 
     ``a great teacher'' and ``as smart and disciplined when it 
     came to politics and policy as anyone I have ever met.''
       ``He taught me how to be a press secretary,'' said McCurry.
       McCurry said Ramsay could be ``a very demanding boss.'' but 
     had a sense of humor, a broad range of outside interests that 
     included literature and music and ``a different perspective 
     than your typical overachieving Capitol Hill aide.''
       Jim Mathews, now the top aide to Rep. Thomas Manton (D-NY) 
     and a former legislative staffer in Williams' office, said he 
     always considered Ramsay his mentor.
       ``He was the nicest, best-humored person I ever knew,'' 
     said Mathews. ``He never took himself too seriously and 
     understood that

[[Page E1646]]

     there were more important things in life than politics.''
       Mathews said Ramsay was also a very private person who 
     seldom complained or talked about the difficulties he 
     encountered in life.
       He said that was true in the early 1980s when two traumatic 
     events took place in a short period of time--the indictment 
     of Williams, his boss, on corruption charges, and a life-
     threatening accident that put his son, Sean, in a coma for 47 
     days and later required a lengthy and difficult 
     rehabilitation.
       And it was true most recently when he was dying of cancer 
     and chose not to burden his friends.
       ``He called last week for advice on where a friend should 
     go in Alaska, but never said anything about his condition,'' 
     said Mathews.
       Ramsay died yesterday morning at Alexandria Hospital in 
     Virginia. He had been under treatment as an outpatient at the 
     National Cancer Institute.
       Born in Jersey City and raised in Cranford, Ramsay 
     graduated from Seton hall University and Seton Hall Law 
     School. He was admitted to the New Jersey bar but chose 
     journalism instead, first as a reporter for the Long Branch 
     Daily Record and later with the Elizabeth Daily Journal.
       Ramsay left Williams' office in later 1981 after the 
     senator was convicted of the corruption charges but before 
     the senator resigned and went to work as a lobbyist for the 
     Engelhard Corp. and then as a consultant for the precious 
     metals industry.
       He is survived by his wife, Leslie Sorg Ramsay of 
     Alexandria, Va.; his son, Sean of Arlington, Va.: a sister, 
     Mrs. Frances Cokelet of Cranford; and a brother, William W. 
     Ramsay of Trenton.
       Funeral services will be private.

       

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