[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 13 (Monday, February 14, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E134]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            WILLIAM MEDESY, A LIFELONG ADVOCATE OF EDUCATION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 14, 2000

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to pause and 
remember a man that has dedicated his life to being a service to 
others. William Medesy passed away on February 1, 2000. He was 90 years 
old.
  William was born in Cleveland in 1909. He graduated from Purdue 
University and went on to receive a master's degree from Yale 
University in 1938. William used his master's degree in forestry to 
work for the United States Forest Service and teach forestry at the 
University of New Hampshire until 1941. During World War II, as an 
officer in the United States Army Reserves, William served as a field 
artillery battery commander in the North African and Sicily campaigns. 
He was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
  After moving in Colorado in 1960, William became the first president 
of Rangely College, presently called Colorado Northwestern Community 
College. He also served as president of Mesa State College in Grand 
Junction, Colorado from 1963 until his retirement in 1971. The 
building, Medesy Hall, which houses the multimedia computer lab on the 
campus of Mesa State College is named after this icon in education.
  After his career in college administration, William and his wife of 
66 years, Geraldine, moved to Aurora where he continued to volunteer 
with several organizations. He was a tutor and also read books on tape 
for the blind.
  It is with this, Mr. Speaker, that I would like to offer this tribute 
to a man who contributed so much to his community. William was a great 
man who gave immeasurably to higher education in Colorado.

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