[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 95 (Monday, July 15, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S6806]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                   RETIREMENT OF DR. VAN KIRKE NELSON

 Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize an 
outstanding Montanan whose distinguished career has literally changed 
the course of two generations of families in the Flathead Valley. In 
the 1950's a college student from Southern California came to Montana 
to be a camp counselor on Flathead Lake. As many do, he fell in love 
with the area and pledged to return after completing medical school to 
begin his practice in Kalispell, MT.
  True to his word, Dr. Van Kirke Nelson, his wife Helen and their 
children Greg, Julie and Kathy packed all their belongings in a beer 
truck and moved to Kalispell where Kirke became the town's first 
medical specialist, opening his practice as an OB-GYN in 1962.
  Forty years, two children, Nancy and Doug, and ten grandchildren 
later, my dear friend Kirke Nelson retired from active medical practice 
on July 1, 2002, leaving behind a legacy that has enriched the very 
fabric of the community to which he and his family mean so much.
  For 40 years, Dr. Van Kirke Nelson delivered the town's babies. Lots 
of babies. So many, in fact, that it is not unusual for him to look at 
a list of Flathead High graduates and determine that he has delivered a 
majority of them.
  Think of it this way. At 10 babies a month, 12 months a year, for 41 
years, Kirke delivered roughly 4,920 babies in his career. To put that 
in perspective, those 4,920 new Montanans are a larger group than the 
entire population of 22 of Montana's 56 counties.
  But the quality of Kirke's career cannot be measured in numbers. 
Every day he changed lives and made the Flathead Valley and Montana a 
better place to live. Partners, co-workers, patients and their families 
all know what I mean. There are more stories than one can possibly 
tell, and you can be assured that although he is retired, there will be 
many, many more stories yet to come.
  Because you see, Kirke Nelson will never retire from making a 
difference in the world around him. The phone may not ring in the 
middle of the night anymore, but knowing Kirke as I do, that just means 
he'll just be better rested for the challenges that lay ahead.
  I know no better Montanans than Kirke and Helen Nelson. I wish for 
them in this retirement an enriched life with each other and their 
wonderful family. There are not thanks enough for this kind of career 
that Kirke has shared with us, but that's what makes America so great. 
Ours is a country where dreams come true. Where promises are our bond. 
And where ordinary careers become extraordinary because of the people 
who live them.
  Kirke Nelson's career has been truly extraordinary. And on behalf of 
a grateful community, State and nation, it is my honor to rise today to 
say thank you.

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