[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 22, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1352]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         JOY OF BEING A FATHER

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                           HON. HENRY J. HYDE

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 22, 1999

  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, Father's Day brought lots of memories and warm 
thoughts to all of us. One very special person I know named Philip H. 
Corboy had a bittersweet Fathers Day which was beautifully acknowledged 
by Steve Neal of the Chicago Sun-Times on Friday, June 18th. Phil and I 
went all through school together, from grammer and high school through 
Law school, and have remained close friends ever since.
  Steve Neal is a highly respected political analyst and journalist who 
shares my admiration and respect for Phil Corboy.
  I suggest my colleagues read Mr. Neal's column about this 
extraordinary man.

               Joy of Being a Father Summed up in Eulogy

       He has made a career out of rising to the challenge.
       Philip H. Corboy, one of the nation's more accomplished 
     trial lawyers, has effectively represented seriously injured 
     people for a half century. His law firm has won hundreds of 
     settlements or verdicts worth more than $1 million each. He 
     once negotiated a $25 million settlement for plaintiffs in a 
     case involving the crash of a DC-10. Corboy is former 
     chairman of the American Bar Association's litigation unit 
     and a former president of the Chicago Bar Association. He is 
     among President Clinton's staunchest political allies and is 
     the former general counsel of the Illinois Democratic Party.
       But for all his achievements, the snowy-haired Corboy takes 
     more pride in the accomplishments of his children. He was 
     dealt a most devastating blow in 1976 when his 12-year-old 
     son Robert was killed in an automobile accident. Then last 
     winter, tragedy struck again. Circuit Judge Joan Marie 
     Corboy, the lawyer's only daughter, died in another accident.
       There is nothing more painful or difficult for any parent 
     to endure. But Corboy responded to this challenge with a 
     deeply moving tribute to his daughter. On this Father's Day 
     weekend, Corboy's eulogy carries special significance and 
     reminds us that parenthood is the greatest gift.
       ``She was outspoken, intelligent and fun,'' Corboy told 
     more than 1,500 people at Joan Marie's memorial service in 
     Northwestern University's law school auditorium. ``As a young 
     girl, she held her own in a house full of boys. The truth of 
     the matter is, she ruled the roost
       ``Joan was not one to mince words. Whenever I had the 
     opportunity, and it was often, I would tell her that a lawyer 
     who appeared before her had told me what a good judge she 
     was, how fair, how smart, how judicious. Ever the 
     practicalist, she would reply, `Well, Dad, if he--and it was 
     most times as he--thought I was an inept horse's rear, do you 
     think he would have told you that?'
       ``Once when she was a prosecutor, a judge convened his call 
     by asking Joan, `Are you ready, sweetie?' To which Joan 
     replied, `Only if you are, Judgie.'
       ``Joan was true to herself and she was full of self-
     confidence. Some time after Joan and Jim married, she was 
     asked why she kept her father's name. To which she replied, 
     `I didn't keep my father's name, I kept my name.'''
       In dealing with the most haunting question of why she died, 
     Corboy said, ``I gently and reverently suggest that tragic 
     accidents are not God's plan. There is no intentional taking 
     of young people from their husband and children, their 
     parents and siblings.''
       Corboy then talked about the meaning of his daughter's 
     life. ``What has she taught us in 46 years? That's an easy 
     one. She taught us to respect others, and she taught us how 
     to love. Let me remind you, my sons, that many millions of 
     people have never had a sister. Many millions of fathers and 
     mothers have never had a daughter . . .  many millions of 
     people have never had children. . . .  We have been fortunate 
     in having the loving, beautiful, smart, strong Joan Marie 
     Corboy with us for the better part of our lives.''
       He concluded: ``Do not think of Joan Marie Corboy as a 
     memory. Think of her spirit and carry her spirit and her love 
     of life in your hearts forever.''
       In his loss, Corboy has something in common with famed 
     Kansas editor William Allen White, whose only daughter, Mary 
     Katherine, was killed in a 1921 horseback riding accident. 
     Like Joan Corboy, Mary White had a passion for life and a 
     democratic spirit. White wrote a wonderful tribute that was 
     widely reprinted. ``I cannot help feeling that her life has 
     reached out and touched other lives through this article, and 
     I hope it has touched them for good,'' White wrote in a 
     letter to an old college friend.
       ``Mary was a joyous child. We can't think of her for five 
     minutes consecutively without breaking into a laugh,'' White 
     went on. ``And you can't go around weeping yours eyes out and 
     laughing at the same time. We have to laugh if we think of 
     Mary, and we love to think of Mary.''
       Joan Corboy will be long remembered for the same reasons. 
     When students once asked how she got her job, she replied, 
     ``I'm a judge because my father has a lot of clout.'' But she 
     also was highly qualified and had special grace.



     

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