[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 120 (Friday, September 11, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S10259]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO DR. ROGER WILLIAMS

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today in tribute to a great Utah man 
of science, Dr. Roger R. Williams, whose life came to a tragic end last 
Wednesday in the horrific crash of Swissair Flight 111.
  Tomorrow, Dr. Williams' remarkable life will be celebrated at a 
memorial service in Salt Lake City.
  In the wake of this solemn occasion, I ask that my colleagues pause 
for a few moments in remembrance of those husbands and wives, sons and 
daughters, brothers and sisters who perished in this terrible crash.
  (Moment of silence.)
  Like Dr. Williams, each had abundant potential which was so unfairly 
cut short.
  Dr. Roger Williams was known throughout the world, not only as a 
distinguished professor of internal medicine at the University of Utah, 
but also as a leading expert in the field of cardiovascular genetics.
  In fact, at the time of his death, our Utah scientist was on his way 
to Geneva to chair an international panel of the World Health 
Organization, which is working to promote the prevention of premature 
death through early diagnosis of genetic cholesterol abnormalities.
  Dr. Williams was the founder and director of the University of Utah's 
Cardiovascular Genetics Research Clinic, which fosters collaborative 
investigations involving numerous fields of medicine.
  He was the author of more than 200 professional publications and a 
frequent chair of National Institutes of Health advisory committees.
  But what I remember most about Dr. Williams was his abundant spirit, 
his tremendous enthusiasm for life and for his work, an exuberance that 
was virtually impossible not to get caught up in.
  I can recall many occasions when he visited my office to educate, 
cajole-- and even plead--for an enhanced Federal commitment to research 
on the genetic basis of familial cholesterol problems.
  In fact, earlier this year, Dr. Williams' and I began work to design 
a program leading to the diagnosis and treatment of the unmet needs of 
many thousands of persons with strong familial predisposition to 
preventable early deaths.
  It is ironic that Dr. Williams' promising research was so abruptly 
halted by his own premature death.
  Mr. President, I am grateful for these opportunities to have worked 
with such a fine man, a man who did so much for our State, our country, 
and indeed, the world at large.
  Dr. Roger Williams will truly be missed--not only because of his 
contributions to science and medicine, which brought him international 
acclaim--but also because he was simply a good, decent man who always 
wanted to be fair.
  It is hard to forget a statement made by his son last week that 
captured the true essence of Roger Williams.
  Tom Williams remarked that his father was known to say ``If you 
wouldn't do it for the guy on the bottom, you can't do it for the guy 
on the top.''
  I think we can all learn a valuable lesson from the life and work of 
Roger Williams, a man who always lived his life with the highest 
possible integrity and kindness, a man who regarded his happy marriage 
and seven children as his most important accomplishment and 
responsibility.
  Dr. Williams' passage is a tremendous loss to the State of Utah, the 
world of medical research, and to all those who knew him and knew him 
well.
  My heart goes out to his wife Linda, to his children, and to his 
extended family, including his colleagues, during what I know is a most 
difficult time. They will all be in our thoughts and prayers.
  We know that they will be blessed because of the lives that they live 
as well.
  This was a great man, a person who had unlimited potential. It is 
hard to understand why a life like this--indeed lives like all the 
others on that plane--were snuffed out. The fact of the matter is that, 
believing in a life hereafter and believing that there is a God who 
rewards people for the works that they do on this Earth, I have no 
doubt that Roger Williams will be with our Father in Heaven as one of 
his chosen people. It is my prayer all the passengers on flight 111 
will be as well.
  I personally express my gratitude and appreciation for what Roger 
Williams has meant to this country, what he has meant to the University 
of Utah, what he has meant to our State, and what he has meant to so 
many other persons.

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