[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 93 (Tuesday, July 14, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H5411]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO WATKINS M. ABBITT, SR.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Johnson of Connecticut). Under the 
Speaker's announced policy of January 21, 1997, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Sisisky) is recognized during morning hour debates for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. SISISKY. Madam Speaker, it is my sad duty to inform the House 
that former Congressman Watkins M. Abbitt, who formerly represented the 
4th District of Virginia, died yesterday at the age of 90.
  Congressman Abbitt was a true son of the south. He was born in 
Lynchburg, Virginia, 1908, graduated from the Appomattox Agricultural 
High School in 1925, and earned a law degree from the University of 
Richmond in 1931. He served as Commonwealth's Attorney in Appomattox 
from 1932 to 1948 and was a member of Virginia's Constitutional 
Convention in 1945.
  He was a delegate to Democratic State conventions from 1932 to 1952, 
Chairman of the Democratic Central Committee from 1964 to 1970, and 
delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1964. He also became 
a director of the Farmers National Bank.
  He was elected to Congress in 1948 and served until he retired in 
1973.
  I will be the first to tell my colleagues that the 4th District has 
changed since Wat Abbitt served in Congress, and the great thing about 
Wat Abbitt was that he saw changes coming and was ready to change with 
it. Nevertheless, the rural character of Southside is still there; the 
peanut and tobacco farmers and families are still there.
  After he retired, Wat Abbitt said his biggest accomplishment had been 
looking after the interests of the farmers in his district. I hope they 
can say that about me.
  Among many of my constituents, Wat Abbitt is still the standard by 
which they measure an effective Congressman. I can tell my colleagues 
this about serving in Congress: I have worked hard to get the job, and 
I think I would have been elected even if Wat Abbitt had not helped me, 
but it sure made things easier for me that he did. I suspect there is 
40 years worth of Virginia's governors, from both parties, and 
Congressmen who could say the same thing. He was one of the rare 
politicians who combined fidelity to the past with respect for the 
future. That ability helped change Virginia from the way it used to be 
to the way that it is today.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goode).
  Mr. GOODE. Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to join my colleague, the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Sisisky) in expressing sadness at the 
passing of former Congressman Watkins M. Abbitt of Appomattox. He 
served with distinction in this body for over 24 years. He represented 
the 4th District, but from 1972 on, he was a resident of Virginia's 5th 
District.
  He first came to Congress in the winter of 1948 when he won an 
overwhelming victory over four opponents. In the years that followed, 
he rarely faced opposition because of his outstanding reputation and 
his leadership in the United States House of Representatives.
  As Chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, he fought hard to 
bring our party into a position of prominence. In 1946, he had the 
distinction of being the only Statewide campaign manager for two 
Statewide campaigns, those of U.S. Senator Harry Byrd and U.S. Senator 
A. Willis Robinson. Both were overwhelmingly successful.
  In 1972, Wat Abbitt retired from Congress though not from politics or 
life. He left all of us who knew him with many legacies, but I should 
mention three of the hallmarks of his legislative years: support for 
tobacco, fighting for peanuts, and warnings about rising deficits. In 
his later years he remained active. This last year he sold more tickets 
to the Appomattox County Democratic Fish Fry than any other person.
  He gained renown as a great speaker, and I fondly recall his remarks 
and his speeches on my behalf in the nomination process for the U.S. 
House of Representatives.
  I join many others in extending condolences to his wife; to his son, 
Watkins M. Abbitt, Jr., who is following in his father's footsteps and 
who is a member of the Virginia House of Delegates; to his two 
daughters; to his two brothers; and to his sisters. May we all remember 
his enthusiasm, his zest for living, and his willingness to fight for 
causes that were just and may he always serve as a model for us in the 
years ahead.

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