[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 41 (Thursday, March 13, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E478]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO JOY BRYSON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 13, 2003

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a wonderful 
person and former member of the Transportation and Infrastructure 
Committee staff who passed away a few weeks ago, Mrs. Joy Bryson. Just 
one year ago, I rose to congratulate Joy on her retirement. Her 
retirement was all too short. As Joy's family returns from taking her 
home to North Carolina, I rise to honor Joy once again.
  Joy was a much-loved member of the T&I Committee Staff, and we all 
miss her very deeply. All of us, Member and staff alike, suffered with 
her through her long ordeal with breast cancer and its permutations, a 
struggle that I know all too well from my own experience, losing my 
late wife, Jo, after an eight-and-a-half year battle with the same 
disease.
  When in remission, Joy worked as an active advocate for breast cancer 
research and for cancer research and treatment. Joy was a very strong 
advocate for the work of the Breast Cancer Research, Treatment, and 
Education Center at George Washington University Hospital. She actively 
supported efforts in the private sector community to raise funds for 
the ``mammavan'' project of G.W. Hospital that helps provide mammograms 
for women in underserved areas of Washington, D.C., and the 
international community of the city.
  Joy dealt with her long struggle with cancer privately. She did not 
want attention brought to her, which, in a way, was unfortunate, 
because many of us wanted to comfort, support, and console her. But, 
she carried on, with her loving family by her side, a very private 
campaign that she ultimately lost.
  I ask all of you to keep her and her family--her husband, Lit, and 
her two children, Chris and Jeni--in your prayers. Keep those who are 
left behind in your prayers. They are the ones who need it most. Joy 
will be where her name suggests, in the joy of eternity, in the hands 
of our loving Father.

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