[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 13 (Monday, February 14, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        A TRIBUTE TO JEAN McNEIL

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TODD TIAHRT

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 14, 2000

  Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Speaker, Alexis de Toqueville once said that America 
was great because her people were good. Today I have the honor to pay 
tribute to one of these truly good people.
  Earlier around noon today, Jean McNeil of Wichita, KS, died. Jean was 
a wonderful woman. She had a laugh and smile that made you feel warm 
and safe. She was humble and kind, quiet and compassionate. Why was 
Jean so good? Because she loved. Her love permeated all who knew her; 
it enveloped her children and grandchildren, and touched all who were 
blessed to call her a friend.
  One cannot remember Jean without remembering the times she would 
simply sit back and laugh at someone's story, encourage her grandson 
Tony to perform just one more magic trick, or make a pithy comment 
about some politician who had lost his way. Although Jean was kind, she 
had a passionate side. Her anger could be aroused, but only in the most 
serious of circumstances, and those usually involved a loss for her 
beloved Kansas Jayhawks.
  St. Francis once said that we should preach the Gospel every day, and 
when necessary use words. Like St. Francis, Jean lived less by her talk 
then by her walk. You saw Christ within her in her kindness, her 
gentleness, her constancy and yes, her humility. Each of us is thankful 
for the time we had with Jean. I am sure her friends at Blessed 
Sacrament Catholic Church would agree.
  Mr. Speaker, life is such a precious gift. It is so special that 
often we fail to consider it. Our founders enshrined this gift in our 
Declaration of Independence as the first right. Back in 1994 Jean's 
daughter, Charlotte, her husband, Tom and their five kids, Andy, Emily, 
Mike, Paul, and Tony probably did not fully consider the value of each 
other's life. But, when Tom went down in his private plane that year, 
each of their lives changed, forever. Tom, Mike, and Paul crossed the 
threshold of Heaven that day, but Charlotte, Jean and the surviving 
children remained: left to make sense of it all.
  Some questions are not easily put to rest, but for Jean the question 
of life was simple: respect it.
  There is much disagreement on the floor of this great body, about 
whose life should be protected in law, but Jean was never confused. The 
great Chairman, Herry Hyde, could have been talking about her when he 
reflected on the moment when each of us will appear before our Creator 
to account for our lives. He said:

       I really think that those in the Pro-Life Movement will not 
     be alone. I think there will be a chorus of voices that have 
     never been heard in this world, but are heard very 
     beautifully and very loudly in the next world. And, I think 
     they will plead for everyone who had been in the movement. 
     They will say to God: ``Spare them, because they loved us.'' 
     And God will look at us and say not, ``Did you succeed'' but, 
     ``did you try?''

  Mr. Speaker, today, the Chorus in Heaven just became a bit louder. 
Rock Chalk, Jean.

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