[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 8 (Wednesday, February 6, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H179-H181]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REMEMBERING THEODORE J. VOLLRATH, PHILIP JEHLE AND R. LAWRENCE COUGHLIN
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2001, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gekas) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to enter into the Congressional
Record remembrances of three individuals who passed away in the last
few months.
First, I want to recall the life of Ted Vollrath. Ted Vollrath was a
Korean veteran who, because of the battles in which he was engaged,
eventually lost both his legs. That did not stop him at all. He became
active in many veterans entities and served the public in many
different ways, but while he was doing that, he was learning karate. He
became a black belt in karate; can my colleagues believe this now, a
man without legs, earned a karate black belt.
In a wheelchair he was able to perform feats never before seen, and
he performed in London and all over the eastern seaboard and actually
made a movie called Mr. No Legs. I saw one of the premieres of it in my
district when it came to town.
So he was a movie actor, an enthusiast for karate, a specialist, a
black belt, and yet he found time to serve the various veterans
organizations in our area, and then, on top of that, served me, our
office, as chairman of our Service Academy Nominating Committee and did
that for almost 20 years. He was someone who I could count on for
advice not just on the service academies, but also on matters military
generally, on national security and others.
He at one time, I am also ashamed to tell my colleagues this, one
time he said he wanted me to, in one of his karate exhibitions and
swordsmanship exhibitions, he wanted to put an apple on the back of my
head, have me kneel down, and then he would with one swift stroke of a
sword cut the apple and hopefully not my neck. What I cannot understand
is that I said, yes, I would do it, and I did. I put my head down on
like a little table or bench there, he put the apple, we had an
audience, et cetera, and he did it with his sword and cut the apple in
half, did not touch any part of your speaker here, else I would not be
here.
The point was that he fulfilled his life with four children and a
wonderful church relationship and a community relationship, and
overcame tremendous odds through his life. When we lost him, we lost a
true contributor to our community.
The second set of remembrances are as to Phillip Jehle. We best knew
him, we Pennsylvania Members of the Congress, as the director of the
Governor's office in Washington. Governor Casey at that time appointed
Mr. Jehle as the director, but he had a whole array of services to the
State and to the country way before that. Let me read a couple of the
salient features of his life.
He was a retired Washington lawyer. He had served as a chief counsel
to a Senate committee. He had served as executive vice president of a
pharmaceutical company, and then, as I said, the director of the
Washington office of the Pennsylvania Governor. All of us who served in
the Pennsylvania delegation knew him well, could approach him at any
time to coordinate the solution of problems that were mutual to Members
of Congress and to the Governor of the Commonwealth.
He upon his retirement from SmithKline, where he had worked, he spent
the rest of his time in legislation that was important to Pennsylvania
through the Governor's office.
His survivors include his wife of 52 years, Marcelle Auclair Jehle;
five children, Philip F. Jehle, Christopher A. Jehle, Lawrence and
Patricia A. Galasso of Morocco, and Kathleen M. Will of Elk Ridge; also
a brother, three sisters and 12 grandchildren.
He was a public servant of a special breed, and he, too, will be
remembered through our insertion of remembrances in the Congressional
Record.
The third is as to our colleague Larry Coughlin, longtime member of
the Pennsylvania delegation, a Member of Congress from southeast
Pennsylvania, who served valiantly throughout the time that he was here
after having served in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
Larry was 71. He was from Montgomery County, and he was the fellow
that, when he walked in here, was immediately noticeable for his
gentlemanly stance and his posture, but, more than that, his elegant
bow tie. He almost never came to this Chamber or to any function
without a bow tie, and they were nice ones and colorful and fit the
pattern of his gentleman qualities. So if we forget everything else
about him, we will always be able to talk about that bow tie presence
that he had.
He served in Congress from 1968 to 1992. At first he represented just
Montgomery County and then later part of Philadelphia. He endorsed
funding SEPTA, which is a transportation authority in the southeast of
Pennsylvania, and other mass transit agencies, housing efforts and
antidrug education.
He graduated from the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut, in
1946 and from Yale University in 1950. One of his Yale classmates was
George Herbert Walker Bush, the future President and father of our
current President, George W. Bush.
While attending Harvard Business School he was called to Active Duty
by the Marine Corps in Korea, serving as an aide to the legendary
Lieutenant General Lewis B. ``Chesty'' Puller. After his discharge, he
returned to Harvard, earning a degree in business administration in
1954.
He came to Philadelphia to attend Temple University Law School,
attending classes at night and working as a foreman on an assembly line
at Heintz Manufacturing Company, a steel company, during the day. He
received his degree in 1958 and became a partner at Saul Ewing Remick &
Saul.
During Vice President Richard M. Nixon's first Presidential campaign
in 1960, Larry decorated an old mail truck with banners, and he took
the Nixon campaign to the streets of Philadelphia.
By the 1960s he lived in Villanova and was involved in Montgomery
County Republican politics. He worked for William W. Scranton's
successful gubernatorial campaign in 1962. He himself won his first
election in 1964, capturing a seat in the State house of
representatives. Two years later he moved up to the State senate, and
he was elected to his first term in Congress from the 13th District in
1968.
During his 24 years in Congress, he served on the Committee on the
Judiciary and became a high-ranking member of the Committee on
Appropriations and its Subcommittee on Transportation. As a member of
the House Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control, he called
for de-emphasis on efforts to interdict narcotics traffic and instead
sought additional funds for destruction of cocaine processing labs,
what he called the choke points in the drug trade.
{time} 1815
He also supported funding for antidrug education programs.
His two most competitive contests for reelection came in 1984 and
1986 against the then Democratic State representative Joe Hoeffel. By
the 1980s, Representative Coughlin's 13th District had been
reapportioned to include Chestnut Hill, Roxborough, Manayunk and
Overbrook in Philadelphia as well as Montgomery County, adding many
more registered Democrats to his district.
[[Page H180]]
By the way, that same Joe Hoeffel eventually became the Member of
Congress from that area and is serving even as we speak here today as a
Member in this current session of Congress.
Representative Coughlin mounted successful campaigns against his
younger opponent, however, and he won comfortably in both contests. And
Joe, who finally won the 13th District after what we just mentioned, in
1998 said after learning about Larry's death, ``Larry was a moderate
who was not at ease with the aggressive wing of the Republican Party.
He had a great record in mass transportation and urban matters. Even
when his district was entirely suburban, he favored the regional
approach.'' That was Joe Hoeffel's tribute to Larry.
Unlike some of our colleagues in Congress, Representative Coughlin
shunned the limelight. He told me there are workhorses in Congress and
there are show horses, and he described himself as a workhorse. The
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Hoeffel) is the one who recalls that
statement that was made by Larry, and he added that he was a dedicated
public servant. There was never a whisper of anything improper or self-
serving.
When a magazine writer claimed that men who wore bow ties were not to
be trusted, Representative Coughlin, who never wore anything but bow
ties, said, ``I have never known one who wasn't trustworthy.''
After his retirement, Mr. Coughlin remained in Washington, joining
Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Mellott as senior counsel. Earlier this year,
he joined the law firm of Thompson Coburn. He was president of the
Friends of the U.S. National Arboretum, and he enjoyed gardening,
hiking and boating.
Mr. Coughlin is survived by his wife of 21 years, Susan MacGregor
Coughlin; a daughter, Lisa Powell, from his first marriage to the late
Helen Ford Swan; and three children from his second marriage to
Elizabeth ``Betsey'' Worrell. They are daughters Lynne Samson and Sara
Noon; and son Lawrence. He is also survived by five grandchildren.
One other anecdote that is not part of the printed material that I
will enter into the Congressional Record. I remember an occasion, I
believe he was still an incumbent at the time, or maybe he had just
moved into the outer fringes of the House of Representatives, but an
intruder entered his house and was doing whatever these intruders do,
and Larry corralled him. He apprehended him and held him down until the
police arrived.
So, again, the kind of courage we knew was his wont throughout his
life, particularly in Korea, manifested itself in his own domicile in
apprehending a felon. And so he was a hero in many, many different ways
was Larry Coughlin.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter),
who has been eager with me to have this hour of remembrances of Larry
Coughlin come about.
Mr. BEREUTER. I thank the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania,
and I am very pleased to participate in this commemorative tribute for
Larry, Lawrence, Coughlin, Jr., a terrific person, outstanding
Congressman, and a real patriot. And I have to say that I am objective
about that despite the fact that Larry Coughlin was one of my best
friends in the Congress.
He provided a tremendous amount of leadership in this Congress in so
many ways, but of course I guess the area in which he is best known is
his leadership for the whole Congress on urban and mass transit issues.
Larry had a great set of priorities: family, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and Marine Corps. He was such a courteous, cordial
individual. He absolutely deserved and lived up to the title of ``the
gentleman from Pennsylvania.''
We had great respect for him, a tremendous sense of humor, we all
enjoyed his company, but his contributions in the Congress, of course,
were only part of the contributions he made to the country. He provided
incredible service to Chesty Puller, one of the most famous marines of
all. And I have a hard time saying this as a former Army officer, but
in fact he did remarkable things.
He provided real work, hard labor to put himself through law school,
and he had an inspirational impact on his family. He motivated those
children to bring out the best in their capabilities; a high value on
education and patriotism, and it shows when you meet them today, and
his grandchildren as well.
One of the things that most people do not know about Larry Coughlin
is his love for plants, trees, bushes, all kinds of plants. Larry
worked in the soil. He loved it, and he provided some real leadership
to organizations like the Friends of the National Arboretum, where he
served as the president for a number of years, and he was an
inspiration to all of us.
He actually is responsible for involving a significant number of
Members of Congress and their spouses in the work of the National
Arboretum. It was one of his loves. But he took that love and you could
see it on his own properties in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere.
He grew up in that agricultural vein. He tells stories about working
with his father from the youngest years of his life, and he made a
tremendous contribution in that area, and it is something that most
people do not know about. I think there could be an opportunity for us
to make a fitting tribute to Larry Coughlin by doing something in the
future for the National Arboretum, one of his real joys in life.
We are going to miss him very, very much, and I in particular. I
thank my colleague, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gekas), for
yielding to me. It is hard to itemize all the things in which Larry
made contributions throughout his life, and even here in the House of
Representatives. It is hard to list them all because this was a man who
reflected the best in the House of Representatives.
Mr. GEKAS. I thank the gentleman. And it occurred to me that we
missed a golden opportunity to pay the ultimate tribute to Larry. We
should have worn bow ties for this occasion while we did our
remembrances of him.
Mr. BEREUTER. He not only wore them, he defended them; did he not?
Mr. GEKAS. Yes, he did, regularly.
And so, Mr. Speaker, that concludes our remembrances on this
occasion, and we invite every Member who wishes to add any kind of
sentiment or remembrance to the Congressional Record to do so, and to
let us know so that we can coordinate the whole of the Record; and, as
I indicated previously, I hereby submit additional biographical
information on Larry Coughlin for the Record.
[From the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]
Coughlin, Robert Lawrence, 1929-
Coughlin, Robert Lawrence, (nephew of Clarence Dennis
Coughlin), a Representative from Pennsylvania; born in
Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pa., April 11, 129; A.B., Yale
University, 1950; M.B.A., Harvard Graduate School of Business
Administration, 1954; LL.B., Temple University Evening Law
School, 1958; attorney; manufacturer; captain, United States
Marine Corps, 1950-1952, aide-de-camp to Gen. L.B. Puller;
elected to Pennsylvania house of representatives, 1964;
elected to Pennsylvania senate, 1966; elected as a Republican
to the Ninety-first and to the eleven succeeding Congresses
(January 3, 1969-January 3, 1993); was not a candidate for
renomination in 1992 to the One Hundred Third Congress; is a
resident of Plymouth Meeting, Pa.
____
[From the Washington Post, Dec. 5, 2001]
Rep. R. Lawrence Coughlin, Jr., Dies; Represented Pennsylvania From
1969 to 1993
(By Adam Bernstein)
R. Lawrence Coughlin Jr., 72, a moderate Pennsylvania
Republican who from 1969 to 1993 represented the wealthy
Maine Line area of suburban Philadelphia in the House of
Representatives, died of cancer Nov. 30 at his weekend farm
in Mathews, Va. He lived in Alexandria.
Rep. Coughlin, a lawyer, was known for championing urban
and mass-transit issues nationwide. He served on the
transportation subcommittee and the District subcommittee. He
also was ranking Republican on the Select Committee on
Narcotics Abuse and Control. On the District subcommittee, he
was frequently critical of then-Mayor Marion Barry's
leadership. At one hearing on the D.C. budget, he took Barry
to task for ``corruption and mismanagement'' citywide. He did
not pursue reelection in 1992 and became senior counsel to
Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott in Washington. In April, he
joined the Washington office of the St. Louis-based Thompson
Coburn law firm and concentrated on transportation and
international-commerce matters. He was on the board of the
Friends of the U.S. National Arboretum, where he was a former
president.
Robert Lawrence Coughlin Jr. was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.,
and grew up on his father's farm near Scranton, Pa. He was a
nephew of former representative Clarence D. Coughlin (R-Pa.).
The younger Rep. Coughlin
[[Page H181]]
was a 1946 graduate of the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville,
Conn., and a 1950 economics graduate of Yale University. He
received a master's degree in business administration from
Harvard University. He was a 1958 graduate of Temple
University's law school, attending classes at night while a
foreman on a steel assembly line during the day. He served in
the Marine Corps during the Korean War and was aide-de-camp
to Lt. Gen. Lewis B. ``Chesty'' Puller. Years later, in
Congress, Rep. Coughlin chaired the Capitol Hill Marines, a
group of congressmen who had been in the Marine Corps. He was
practicing law at a Philadelphia firm when he was elected to
the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in1 964 and to the
state Senate in1 966. He won his U.S. House seat in 1968,
when Richard S. Schweiker (R) left to make a successful bid
for the U.S. Senate.
A tall, slender man with a patrician air, Rep. Coughlin was
known for wearing--and defending--bow ties. When a magazine
writer said in the 1980s that men who wore bow ties were not
to be trusted, Rep. Coughlin was quoted as saying, ``I've
never known one who wasn't trustworthy.'' His first wife,
Helen Ford Swan Coughlin, died in the early 1950s. His
marriage to Elizabeth Worrell Coughlin ended in divorce.
Survivors include his wife of 21 years, Susan MacGregor
Coughlin of Alexandria; a daughter from his first marriage,
Lisa Coughlin Powell of Plymouth Meeting, Pa.; three children
from his second marriage, Lynne Coughlin Samson of Wayne,
Pa., Sara Coughlin Noon of Bel Air, Md., and R. Lawrence
Coughlin III of Seattle; and five grandchildren.
____________________