[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 126 (Friday, September 24, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1956]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO EVELYN PRINCE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. FRED UPTON

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 24, 1999

  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to 
pay tribute to a wonderful young woman, Evelyn Prince, who was 
tragically taken from us last week. Many of us here in the House of 
Representatives had the opportunity to meet Evelyn when she served with 
great pride and enthusiasm as a Congressional Page. I was honored to 
say she was ``our page'' from back home in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
  The head of the Kalamazoo Close Up Program, Gerhard Fuerst, where 
Evelyn served as President from 1997-1999, described her simply as a 
``sheer joy.'' He encouraged her to continue setting and meeting her 
own great expectations of herself, including participation in the Page 
program. He shared with me recently an article she wrote upon returning 
from Washington, DC. In the article, Evelyn encourages and challenges 
fellow students, as she so loved to do, to get involved in ``observing 
the inner works of government'' and to ``have fun while learning!''
  After she completed the Page program, Evelyn traveled to Wolfsburg, 
Germany. There she was staying with a family as an exchange student as 
part of the Youth for Understanding program. It is there, too, that she 
met with the harsh fate of an automobile accident she did not survive.
  Evelyn is remembered today as a talented and spirited 17-year-old. 
She was a dedicated student, earning straight-As and looking forward to 
attending college next year. But while she was focused on excelling at 
school, it is as a loyal friend and loving daughter and sister that she 
will be so sorely missed.
  Evelyn's family shared her sense of adventure and her dreams for the 
future. Their lives were enriched immeasurably by her presence and are 
undoubtedly altered immeasurably by her absence. With a young person as 
talented, exuberant and ambitious the sky was the limit. Sadly, we will 
never know how far she could have soared with a long life. But we thank 
God for the contributions she made, the people she inspired and the 
happiness she created in her all too short life. I close with a poem by 
Edna St. Vincent Millay:

My candle burns at both ends: It will not last the night;
But, ah, my foes, and oh, my friends,
It gives a lovely light.

  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues here in Congress to join me 
in extending our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Evelyn 
Prince. All members of the Congressional family send our thoughts and 
prayers especially to Evelyn's parents, DeeAnn and Charles ``Skip'' 
Prince, and her sister Lauren.
  Evelyn was indeed a rising star whose lovely light still shines on 
the many people she touched.

                          ____________________