[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 89 (Friday, June 28, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1185-E1186]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING MARY ``BILLY'' BOATWRIGHT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ROB SIMMONS

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 27, 2002

  Mr. SIMMONS. Mr. Speaker, Mary ``Billy'' Boatwright, a wife, a 
mother, an athlete, a newspaper reporter, a tireless advocate of better 
education, and a member of the National Republican Committee for nearly 
two decades, passed away on May 31 at the age of 82, a victim of 
cancer. She was a model Republican, a woman of principle, and an 
integral part of my hometown, Stonington, Connecticut. Her family and 
friends mourn her and remember the way in which she gave her life to 
her community.
  Billy Boatwright was a role model for me and for the many people 
whose lives she touched. Friends who confided in her did so in faith. 
Candidates who sought her advice found a ready ear and a bright mind. 
Many of us can look back on our lives and find a person upon whose 
advice and counsel we built our careers and forged our ideals. For the 
people of Stonington Billy was that person.
  Billy believed in loyalty and was willing to elevate principle above 
party lines. Her decision to oppose a party nominee for Governor and 
support instead a lifelong friend forced her to give up her seat on the 
Republican National Committee. She also vacated her seat on the 
Stonington Republican Town Committee. In her absence the Committee made 
the decision not to fill her seat. After the election, Republican 
leaders invited her to return. This is one of many examples of the 
respect in which she was held by her peers.
  Mr. Speaker, politics does not build character. It reveals it. Those 
of us who knew Billy Boatwright had the honor of knowing a woman of the 
highest character, the image of honesty and learning, a woman who 
understood the importance of serving the interests of the public. She 
will be greatly missed. We are fortunate to have been a part of her 
life and even more fortunate that she was a part of ours. I would like 
to submit Westerly Sun columnist Jeff Mill's story on her legacy for 
the Congressional Record.

                        [From the Westerly Sun]

        Stonington Loses ``Billy'' Boatwright, Political Legend

                             (By Jeff Mill)

       Mary H. ``Billy'' Boatwright, a power in Republican 
     politics on the national, state and local levels and an 
     integral part of Stonington life for over 40 years, has died.
       Boatwright, who had been ill in recent months, succumbed to 
     cancer Friday. She was 82.
       A wife, mother, sportswoman, newspaper reporter, staunch 
     advocate of reading and learning, and member of the 
     Republican National Committee for 17 years, she was described 
     as ``a life force'' in Stonington since moving here with her 
     husband, Victor, in 1957.
       Expressions of sympathy and admiration flowed in Saturday, 
     as word spread of her death. (An obituary appears in the 
     obituary section of the online Sun.)
       ``She was really a remarkable woman,'' declared Andrew W. 
     Maynard, the warden--a post akin to mayor--of Stonington 
     Borough. ``Her death is certainly an enormous loss to the 
     Borough and really to the entire area of southeastern 
     Connecticut.''
       Spare and direct, Boatwright was the grand doyen of 
     Republican politics in town and throughout the region. 
     Candidates on the local and state levels regularly sought her 
     out for advice and counsel. Those who didn't rarely 
     succeeded.
       Yet, she was equally at home every August behind tables 
     sagging with books in the Borough's Wadawanuck Square as part 
     of the Stonington Community Center's annual Village Fair. She 
     ran the book tables for years, and they became known as 
     ``Billy's Books.''
       Second District U.S. Rep. Robert R. Simmons, R-Stonington, 
     was one of those who went to Boatwright for advice.
       ``As a Republican, she was a great leader,'' he said. ``I 
     think she was the first woman to represent Stonington in the 
     General Assembly, back when that was not an easy thing to do.
       ``She was a staunch member of the Republican Town Committee 
     and a great mentor to people like me and Michael Blair (a 
     former Borough warden) who wanted to get involved in politics 
     but didn't know how. She really was an extraordinary woman.''
       ``She loved to travel, and she had so many friends, and she 
     was quite independent,'' said her daughter Mary T. ``Tolly'' 
     Boatwright. ``She was so devoted to so many things--to her 
     country and the democratic process and to the Republican 
     Party. And yet, she never followed anything blindly.''
       Boatwright was, for instance, a strong and loyal supporter 
     of Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr., even when that became 
     unfashionable in some circles. It was a measure of her 
     loyalty that she bolted the Republican Party to join 
     Weicker's A Connecticut Party--and in doing so gave up her 
     seat on the Republican National Committee.
       ``I would put her, literally, in a handful--and I mean five 
     people--who were the greatest influences in my career,'' the 
     former governor said Saturday evening from his Virginia home.
       ``She had enormous integrity and a great sense of humor, 
     and she was one of the most loyal people I know,'' Weicker 
     said, noting that Boatwright gave up her seat on the RNC 
     ``when just about any Republican woman in the state would 
     have died for that seat. But that was Mary.
       ``Every leader should be surrounded by people with that 
     integrity (who are willing to relay bad news even) when you 
     don't want to hear it.''
       Simmons recalled that when she resigned from the party to 
     back Weicker's independent run for governor, ``I was 
     chairman, and the town committee decided not to fill her 
     seat. After the election, she was invited to come back and 
     occupy the seat. That's just one sign of the respect in which 
     she was held by her fellow Republicans.''
       Her son, Bill Boatwright, mentioned another instance in 
     which his mother remained loyal--to Richard Nixon, whom she 
     first met during her postwar career as a newspaperwoman at 
     the San Francisco Chronicle. He said ``she supported him and 
     remained very hopeful that his policies'' would achieve the 
     recognition she felt they deserved.
       ``As an individual, she would follow the strength of her 
     convictions,'' he said.
       William S. Brown, a selectman and chairman of the 
     Republican Town Committee, recalled Boatwright as ``a lovely 
     lady. She was very bright and intelligent and a stalwart 
     Republican.''
       Respect and affection for Mrs. Boatwright crossed party 
     lines.
       James M. Spellman, a Pawcatuck Democrat, was often in Mrs. 
     Boartwright's sights during the 24 years that he served as 
     Stonington's first selectman. And yet, he praised her 
     Saturday, saying, ``Mary was an outstanding citizen of 
     Stonington. She was very knowledgeable, and she always 
     quietly offered her time for many different programs. It 
     could be the (Stonington) Community Center, the town of 
     Stonington, or Westerly Hospital. But I believe her first 
     love, no doubt, was politics, in which she played a major 
     role on the local, state and national level.
       ``I always admired her,'' Spellman continued, ``because she 
     knew the issues and she worked in the best interests of our 
     area, and I respected her as a friend and a political 
     opponent.''
       Boatwright was by equal parts direct and humorous. She did 
     not suffer fools gladly, but she could be supportive and 
     funny--often devastatingly so.
       Her youngest daughter, Tolly Boatwright, recalled just such 
     an incident during World War II, when her mother drove a 
     tractor at the North Island, Calif., Naval Station.
       ``She met Eleanor Roosevelt once and Mrs. Roosevelt said 
     how interesting her job must

[[Page E1186]]

     be,'' Tolly said. ``And mother said she had only learned two 
     things--how to swear and how to spit, although I think she 
     already knew how to swear.''
       Tolly reflected that it ``had to be a trial'' for such a 
     dedicated Republican to meet the staunchly Democratic first 
     lady.
       Maynard spoke of ``her enormous influence and commitment to 
     the Borough and around the state.''
       ``She had such dedication to her community and to her 
     church,'' Maynard said. ``She was so dedicated to the 
     (Stonington Free) Library, to the cause of learning and to 
     volunteer work, and she did all that with great enthusiasm.
       ``I think of her just now standing in front of the 
     (Borough) post office, speaking with someone and with her 
     head thrown back in a laugh. It's really sad to think of her 
     no longer being with us.''
       ``She had a lot of energy, and she generated enthusiasm,'' 
     First Selectman Peter N. Dibble said. ``She cared deeply for 
     the people she befriended, and there certainly were many 
     people in this community who benefited from her friendship.
       ``For those of us involved in politics, she was a party 
     stalwart who touched the lives of many of us, but she did not 
     limit herself to partisan politics. She helped numerous 
     people in public life regardless of party lines.''
       Maynard, Simmons, and Tolly Boatwright all mentioned a love 
     of knowledge that pervaded Boatwright's life.
       ``Mother really cared about people no matter their age,'' 
     Tolly Boatwright said. ``And if a child made the honor roll, 
     she would cut out the (newspaper article about it) and send 
     it to the parents. She championed children and academic 
     achievement, and doing the best they can.''
       Simmons said his daughter was one of those who received a 
     clipping and a note of encouragement.
       Boatwright's love of learning extended throughout her 
     entire life.
       ``She had an amazing intellectual curiosity that she 
     carried even into her later years.'' Maynard said. ``In her 
     70s, I would see her still expanding her mind'' as they took 
     courses at Connecticut College.
       Maynard is a Democrat, but he said ``even though she was a 
     vigorous partisan, I had such a regard for her willingness to 
     stay involved. I just had the greatest regard for her.''

     

                          ____________________