[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 124 (Wednesday, September 22, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1924]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO GEORGE W. ``WILL'' GAHAGAN

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 22, 1999

  Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to note the 
passing of a prominent American citizen, George W. ``Will'' Gahagan, 
who died in Carmel, California on December 8, 1998 at the age of 86.
  Will was a man of broad interests, and notable achievements. He was 
well-educated, graduating in 1949 from Dartmouth, and worked as a 
newspaper reporter, federal public relations officer and foreign press 
liaison officer at the 1945 inaugural United Nations conference in San 
Francisco. Will attended Harvard during his graduate years, and in 1957 
received his master's degree from Stanford University. During his 
Dartmouth years he met the poet Robert Frost, who was on the faculty, 
and later founded the California Friends of Robert Frost, a non-profit 
organization that helped establish Frost Plaza in San Francisco, Mr. 
Frost's birthplace.
  Will was an educator as much as he was a student. He taught English 
for 15 years at high schools, including Tularcitos, Junipero Serra High 
School and Santa Catalina School in Monterey. He also taught at an 
international school in Rome, His students benefited greatly from his 
tutelage and enthusiasm for learning.
  Will's contributions to Monterey County were as far-reaching as his 
range of interests. He wrote a column ``Word Wise'' for the Monterey 
Herald, produced and hosted a foreign affairs television program in 
Salinas, and wrote a guidebook about the Monterey Peninsula. He worked 
with many local organizations including the Carmel Foundation, the 
World Affairs Council, the Carmel City Planning Commission and the 
Carmel Library. Will helped create the Dennis the Menace Playground in 
Monterey, and helped raise $250,000 for the Robinson Jeffers Tor House 
in Carmel. He was a member of the senior and super-senior national 
tennis teams, successfully competing in tournaments in Canada and 
Europe. Will has been inducted into the Dartmouth College Athletic Hall 
of Fame.
  No list of accomplishments can represent the generosity of spirit, 
the vitality, and the intelligence that Will demonstrated every day. 
Will is to be remembered as an exemplary human being. He is survived by 
his wife Lorna; his sons Michael and Mark; his daughters Tappy and 
Lissa; his brother John; and, seven grandchildren. He will be sorely 
missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him.

                          ____________________