[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 31, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H136]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING THE LIFE OF OLIVE WEHBRING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life 
of Olive Wehbring. Communities are indeed fortunate to have political 
activists who choose to devote their time to the cause of good 
government after they retire from a paid career. It is rare when that 
commitment to public issues becomes another 30-year career. Olive 
Wehbring, who passed away recently in San Diego at the age of 95, was 
just such an exemplary citizen.
  When I was a young mother and new board member of the San Diego 
League of Women Voters, I was delighted to meet Olive and to be 
introduced by her and to the intricacies of local government. She was a 
model for several generations of League of Women Voters leaders. Her 
enthusiasm was matched by tireless perseverance and sitting through 
long meetings, whether they be a county health committee, a regional 
planning meeting of the San Diego Association of Governments, or a city 
planning commission hearing. In fact, she attended a meeting of 
regional planners only 3 months before she died from complications of 
breast cancer.
  Three years ago, I had the opportunity to speak at a State League of 
Women Voters convention in San Diego, and Olive, well over 90 years 
old, appeared at the meeting. She had volunteered all morning at the 
registration table, driven 10 miles home to check on her cat during 
lunch, drove back downtown, parked, and walked several blocks in time 
for the afternoon session.
  Olive's energy was legendary. Her spirit indomitable and her 
intellect unsparing. She served as President of the League of Women 
Voters of San Diego County in 1981, and for the city league she 
authored a guide to the city's structure and operation. Mrs. Wehbring 
was also active in the Church of the Good Samaritan, where she served 
as clerk of the vestry and as head of the Altar Guild.
  Olive was born here in Washington, D.C. but grew up in New York. 
After graduating in 1927 from Smith College, where she was a 
competitive swimmer, she became a reference librarian. Managing the 
reference department for a library in White Plains, New York, she 
earned a Master's Degree in library science in 1955 from Columbia 
University. In New York, Olive served as President of the United 
Nations Association of Westchester County and on the board of the 
Westchester Mental Health Association.

                              {time}  1300

  After moving in 1970 to the newly developed University City area of 
San Diego with her late husband Leon, she became a member of the 
University City Planning Board. As the University of California San 
Diego grew, the area expanded with diverse business, scientific 
research, and high-density residential buildings. Olive became a 
watchdog for good growth policies to tailor the growth of the 
community.
  Olive Wehbring will be missed by many community members, as well as 
her daughter Brenda Holman of San Diego, her sons John of San Diego and 
Kurt of Portland, Oregon, and her five grandchildren and ten great-
grandchildren. She will always have a special place in my heart and the 
hearts of many women for whom she was a role model and mentor.

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