[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 9 (Friday, January 17, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S1140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                          BETTY HAGEL BREEDING

 Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Mr. President, on Monday, a colleague 
of ours lost his mother and, as always, when tragedy hits one member of 
our Senate family, we all feel like we have lost a member of our 
extended family.
  Not every American is recognized for the way they lived their lives. 
Most Americans pass through time making contact with those around them, 
leading good and decent lives, praying to God for forgiveness and 
salvation, and leaving behind a modest legacy.
  Betty Hagel Breeding was just like each one of us. She strived to 
live her life well; she endured life's unexpected twists and survived 
its tragedies for 79 years. She passed away this week, a true Nebraskan 
and a beloved matriarch, grandmother and mother of our colleague and 
friend Senator Chuck Hagel.
  Life doesn't prepare you for much, especially the loss of your 
parents. It's especially difficult to lose someone who has played such 
an instrumental role in shaping your life, like most parents do.
  According to her sons, Betty Hagel Breeding was ``the glue'' in the 
Hagel family, even more so after the death of her husband in 1962 and 
later her youngest son, Jim. From that point on, she alone faced the 
realities of life, the uncertainty of the future, and the wonder of 
fate as she guided her boys as they became young men.
  When you lose someone like that, there is a bottomless hole in your 
life. When you reflect on the influence of your parents it crystallizes 
the role they played in the development of who you are and what you 
believe.
  Our parents are the people who teach us how to be, how to treat 
others and how to live our lives. Betty Hagel Breeding passed away on 
Monday, but the lessons she taught her children and her children's 
children will live on through her sons. Her legacy lives today in 
Nebraska in those who have survived her and the lives of the Nebraskans 
touched by each one of them.
  Senator Hagel is in Nebraska today with his friends and family. They 
are reliving the memories they share of Betty Hagel Breeding and 
celebrating her life and how she led it. I know many Nebraskans and 
many in the Senate community join me in sending heartfelt condolences 
to the Hagel family.
  In times like these, when Nebraskans reach out to support fellow 
Nebraskans, it reminds me of why our State motto is ``the good life;'' 
because neighbor to neighbor, town to town, city to city, Nebraska is 
home to great men and women, like Betty Hagel Breeding.

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