[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 28 (Wednesday, March 13, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E334]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                JIM ROWAN: TIP O'NEILL'S RIGHT-HAND MAN

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                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 13, 2002

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commend to my colleagues an 
obituary which appeared in the Boston Herald reporting on the death--
and some of the attributes--of dear friend James Rowan, Sr.
  I've known Jim since his years of service with Speaker of the House 
Thomas ``Tip'' O'Neill. We worked together in Washington, traveled the 
world together with the Speaker, and had a brotherly love and 
friendship that was shared by our families.
  Just as I will never forget my friend Tip O'Neill, I will forever 
keep with me the many happy memories of my times with Jim Rowan.
  My wife Alma and I extend our prayers to Francis and the family, and 
share in their grief over the loss of a great husband, father and 
friend.

                [From the Boston Herald, Mar. 13, 2002]

             James Rowan Sr., Aide to House Speaker O'Neill

       James P. Rowan Sr. of East Boston, a senior political aide 
     to the late House Speaker Thomas P. O'Neill Jr., died Sunday 
     at his home, after heart failure due to a brief illness. He 
     was 79.
       ``Jim Rowan was one of Tip O'Neill's right-hand guys, 
     especially on the Massachusetts front. He was full of 
     colorful stories and had a great heart. Few were better at 
     hearing a working person's problem and pushing the right 
     buttoms in the federal bureaucracy to get it solved,'' said 
     Herald political columnist Wayne Woodlief.
       A lifelong resident of East Boston, Mr. Rowan attended the 
     High School of Commerce in Boston, the University of Missouri 
     and Suffolk University. He also studied at Calvin Coolidge 
     School of Law.
       He served with the Navy in the Pacific for two years during 
     World War II.
       Mr. Rowan joined the Massachusetts House member's staff in 
     1953 and was a senior political aide to Speaker O'Neill for 
     33 years. He served as O'Neill's coordinator for district 
     service programs and political affairs until the House 
     speaker's retirement in early 1987. He also served as a 
     consultant for the Democratic Congressional Campaign 
     Committee for several years beginning in the late 1960s, when 
     O'Neill was national chairman of the group.
       During the past 14 years, he had served as a senior 
     consultant to Cassidy and Associates, Washington, D.C., and 
     specialized in international issues. He was also president of 
     J.P.R. Consulting Inc., Boston. He had previously served as 
     an insurance broker and a Boston area bank director.
       Mr. Rowan had brief roles in two motion pictures. He was an 
     avid racing enthusiast and owned horses that ran at several 
     eastern state race tracks.
       Mr. Rowan is survived by his wife, Francis (Brown); two 
     sons, Daniel and James P. Jr., both of East Boston; and his 
     sister, Frances of East Boston.
       A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday at Out 
     Lady of the Assumption Church, East Boston.
       A memorial service will be conducted in Washington, D.C., 
     at a later date.
       His ashes will be scattered at Saratoga Race Course, 
     Saratoga Springs, N.Y., during the August meet.
       Arrangements by McGrath Funeral Home, East Boston.

       

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