[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 151 (Monday, November 3, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S11612]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO RICHARD LETTS

 Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise today to honor one of 
Lansing, MI's most outstanding citizens who recently passed away, 
Richard Letts. Because of his tremendous commitment and involvement in 
many organizations throughout the community, Mr. Letts became 
affectionately known as Mr. Lansing.
  Mr. Letts' life, even while fighting a battle against cancer, was a 
tribute to the human spirit. Whether as a champion athlete, a 27-year 
career as Lansing's human relations director or a community leader in 
volunteer organizations such as Boy Scouts, United Way, Old Newsboys, 
United Negro College Fund, Boys and Girls Club, Urban League, and Lions 
Club just to name a few, Richard Letts was a dominating figure in 
Lansing's landscape. Yet even as he struggled with his health, the 
people of Lansing gave tributes, proclamations, speeches, and parades 
to a man who so often became the comforter, as people came to comfort 
him.
  Olivia Letts, Richard's wife of 46 years, has said, ``People don't 
change who they are when they become ill.'' Indeed, Mr. Letts refused 
to quit. His message in his life, and our future: Race should not 
matter, color should not matter, all people matter. Richard Letts 
mattered to Lansing and all of Michigan. The loss of his presence will 
be mourned, but the mark his life left on Lansing is permanent.

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