[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 75 (Thursday, June 11, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1119]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN RECOGNITION OF NANCY Q. KEEFE

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                           HON. NITA M. LOWEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 11, 1998

  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize an extraordinary 
journalist, Nancy Q. Keefe, who is retiring in July after 22 years with 
Gannett Suburban Newspapers. Ms. Keefe is being honored on June 18 by 
the American Jewish Committee Westchester Chapter with their 
Distinguished Community Relations Award for her work as a columnist and 
``community voice of conscience.''
  Nancy Q. Keefe was editorial page editor of the Gannett Suburban 
Newspapers from 1984-1989 and then became a columnist. She consistently 
wrote with unusual clarity and style about people, issues and events, 
often on topics that few others dared to tackle. During her stint as 
editorial page editor, she wrote editorials and columns favoring a 
program of transitional housing for homeless people. In appreciation, 
the WestHELP organization named its Mount Vernon housing complex, the 
first in Westchester County, for her.
  As a Roman Catholic and member of an interfaith group, she traveled 
to Israel in the spring of 1993 on a trip arranged through Project 
Interchange of the American Jewish Committee. She wrote about the 
experience for the newspapers.
  She graduated from the College of New Rochelle in 1956 and received 
her master's degree from the Graduate School of Journalism in 1958. In 
1981, the College of New Rochelle awarded her the Angela Merici Medal, 
its highest alumnae honor for service to college, church and community.
  In 1991, Nancy Q. Keefe was named to the Westchester County/Avon 
Women's Hall of Fame, cited for being ``the conscience of our 
community.''
  She was born in Pittsfield, Mass., Nov. 20, 1934, the daughter of 
John Gorman Quirk and Ann O'Laughlin Quirk. She began her newspaper 
career at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield and then worked at the old 
World-Telegram & Sun in New York City.
  She and her husband, Kevin Keefe, live in Larchmont, N.Y. They have 
three children and three grandchildren.
  For her unfailing courage, commitment to the truth and dedication to 
improving the lives of all in our community, Nancy Q. Keefe deserves 
our heartfelt thanks and congratulations. We wish her good health and 
happiness in her retirement from Gannett, but hope that she will 
continue the writing that has informed, inspired and even incited us to 
action for so many years.

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