[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 112 (Friday, August 3, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1536-E1537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         TRIBUTE TO MR. RICHARD NEVINS OF PASADENA, CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2001

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, l rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Richard 
Nevins, who died on Saturday following a bodysurfing accident at St. 
Malo Beach in Oceanside, California.
  Mr. Nevins was a life-long resident of Pasadena, in the Congressional 
District I am proud to represent. He was very well-known throughout 
Pasadena, and indeed California as a whole, as a political 
representative, civic activist, and supporter of the beautification and 
heritage of his community.
  Dick served seven terms on the California State Board of 
Equalization--an impressive feat. During his terms on the Board he did 
much to instill a culture of service and professionalism. He was 
referred to as ``. . . an encyclopedia of tax policy'' by Lawrence de 
Graaf who took an oral history from Nevins shortly after his 
retirement. Professionally he was active in the State Association of 
County Assessors of California, International Association of Assessing 
Officers, National Association of Tax Administrators and American 
Society for Public Administration--Los Angeles Board of Directors. In 
addition to these professional organizations, Nevins was active in the 
Los Angeles Urban League, the NAACP (Pasadena Chapter), the World 
Affairs Council, Town Hall and the Commonwealth Club.
  His political legacy also included service as a delegate to three 
national conventions, including the 1960 Democratic National Convention 
in Los Angeles, where he was an early supporter of presidential 
candidate John F. Kennedy. He continued to promote Democratic 
candidates for the rest of his life. After retiring from the State 
Board of Equalization in 1986 he served as President of the Boards of 
the Pasadena Historical Museum and Pasadena Beautiful. He was a 
familiar figure in his 1935 Ford pickup truck carrying around--
gardening tools and planting trees. In fact, one week before his 
passing, California Governor Gray Davis approved $20,000 in the state 
budget on a project Dick had lobbied for-- landscaping at Pasadena 
schools. A fitting final contribution for his beloved home city.
  Dick was known and loved by people throughout his community. His 
service as a political representative, his work on civic affairs in 
Pasadena, and his spirit of community involvement will undoubtedly be 
felt for years in our region.
  Dick graduated from Arroyo Elementary School and Polytechnic School 
in Pasadena; from Midland School in Los Olivos; and from Yale 
University with a bachelor's degree in governmment in 1943. He was also 
a veteran who served our nation in the U.S. Army Air Force in World War 
II.
  Dick is survived by his wife of 55 years, Mary Lois, by three sons, 
Richard Jr., William and Henry; and by five grandchildren.
  I would like to convey to his family and his many many friends, my 
deepest sympathies. Dick Nevins will be missed by all who knew him.

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