[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 178 (Thursday, December 20, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2378-E2379]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  A TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE AND DISTINGUISHED LIFE OF EIGHTH CIRCUIT 
             COURT OF APPEALS SENIOR JUDGE FLOYD R. GIBSON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. KAREN McCARTHY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 20, 2001

  Ms. McCARTHY of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Floyd R. Gibson, Senior Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth 
Circuit who died Thursday, October 4, 2001. Judge Gibson was a stalwart 
for justice and his professional career exemplifies his unwavering 
dedication to public service. His tenure in the Missouri State 
Legislature and his 34 years on the Eighth Circuit, created a legacy of 
commitment to Justice and the common good.
  Judge Gibson was born in the Arizona Territory in 1910. He moved to 
Kansas City at age 4 and graduated from Northeast High School. From 
Northeast, he went on to attend the University of Missouri, where he 
received his bachelors degree in 1931 and his law degree in 1933. In 
1935, he wed his wife, Gertrude. Floyd and his lovely wife have raised 
three successful and talented children, Charles, John, and Catherine, 
while demonstrating a distinguished career in public policy and the 
law. Judge Gibson entered private law practice in the Kansas City area, 
where he rose to become a named partner in three firms. While in 
private practice, Judge Gibson was elected County Counselor for Jackson 
County.
  He later turned his efforts to state government where he served 21 
years in both the House and Senate of the Missouri General Assembly. He 
believed ``politics is the handmaiden of the law and should be actively 
pursued by members of the legal profession as an avocation.'' The Judge 
distinguished himself in the Missouri Senate as Chairman of the 
Judiciary Committee, Majority Floor Leader, and in his final term as 
President Pro Tem of the Senate. His success did not go unnoticed--in 
1960 the `St. Louis Globe Democrat' newspaper named Floyd Gibson the 
Most Valuable Member of the Missouri State Legislature.
  With such credentials, President John F. Kennedy nominated him in 
1961 to become a U.S. District Judge for the Western District of 
Missouri. Judge Gibson was named to the position of Chief Judge one 
year to the day of his September 1961 appointment. In June of 1965 
President Johnson appointed Judge Gibson to the U.S. Court of Appeals 
for the Eighth Circuit. He served as Eighth Circuit Chief Judge from 
1974 to 1980 when he assumed senior status. As a dedicated public 
servant, he continued to serve the Bench actively until June of 2000.
  Judge Gibson has received numerous awards and honors. He received the 
University of Missouri Faculty-Alumni Award. He was named Phi Kappa Psi 
Man of the Year. The Missouri Bar Foundation honored Judge Gibson with 
the Spurgeon Smithson Award. He was an Honorary Member of the Order of 
Coif. He received the Kansas City Bar Association Annual Achievement 
Award and was a recipient of the Lawyers Association's Charles Evans 
Wittaker Award. A member of the Missouri, Kansas City, Federal, and 
American Bar Associations, Judge Gibson has distinguished himself 
through his legal work.
  Judge Gibson's service to his community included the Chairmanship of 
Manufacturers Mechanics Bank and Blue Valley Federal Savings & Loan. He 
had an intense interest in agriculture and was a member of the Gibson 
Family Limited Partnership, which owns the Lone Summit Ranch and other 
farm ground in Jackson County, Missouri. Judge Gibson also gave back to 
the Kansas City community through his service on the Board of Trustees 
for the University of Missouri-Kansas City and as an Advisory Director 
to the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation. He was recently 
recognized as one of the top living contributors to the University 
Missouri-Columbia Law School.
  Judge Gibson's life is celebrated by a host of loving family, 
friends, and colleagues who mourn his loss. Mr. Speaker, please join me 
in expressing our heartfelt sympathy to his devoted wife of 66 years, 
Gertrude, his sons, John and Charles, his daughter, Catherine, his 
daughters-in-law, Judy and Bonnie, his beloved grandchildren, Heather 
Allen, Jennifer

[[Page E2379]]

Ringgold, Lynn Gibson-Lind, Scott Gibson, David Gibson, Joshua Glick 
and Amber Glick, along with his great-granddaughter, Isabelle Allen. 
Judge Floyd R. Gibson will be greatly missed, but his legacy and 
commitment to justice and equality will live on in the hearts and minds 
of those he touched.
  Judge Gibson was active and energetic as a leader of the Democratic 
Party of Missouri; however, he left partisan politics at the door of 
the courthouse when he became a member of the Federal Judiciary. He is 
remembered by all who knew him and those who appeared before him as a 
fair, direct and competent judge. He loved his work as a judge, and 
even after retirement in 1979, he continued to serve the Bench and his 
country in active senior status until June of 2000. Judge Gibson served 
his country for most of the Twentieth Century. He served with honor and 
distinction. He asked for no more and we cannot think of a better 
epitaph.

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