[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 71 (Tuesday, May 13, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E937]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   A TRIBUTE TO RUSSELL J. CUNNINGHAM

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 13, 2003

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleagues to join me 
in honoring the memory of Russell J. Cunningham, a man who devoted his 
life to serving his community. For four decades, Cunningham represented 
the San Bruno Police Department with courage and dignity, retiring in 
1978 as the city's police chief. He passed away last month at the age 
of 87. Mr. Speaker, Chief Cunningham will be missed by his colleagues, 
neighbors, friends, and, most of all, by the thousands of men and women 
whose safety he protected.
  Russell Cunningham's devotion to his city was rooted in his 
understanding of its people. A native of the Bay Area, he grew up in 
San Bruno. In 1938, at the age of 23, Cunningham responded to a 
newspaper ad seeking the San Bruno Police Department's fifth employee. 
Mr. Speaker, this chance event launched a noteworthy law enforcement 
career.
  Cunningham's forty years in the department were marked by numerous 
successes. In 1961, his efforts aided the capture the notorious ``hat 
gang,'' which robbed banks and supermarkets throughout the country 
wearing topcoats and pork pie hats. The following year, in recognition 
of this and other achievements, Cunningham was named Chief of Police. 
He served with distinction until his retirement in 1978.
  Chief Cunningham's community involvement extended well beyond his law 
enforcement career. He was active in the St. Robert's Men's Club, the 
St. Vincent de Paul Society, Meals on Wheels, Rancho Canada Dons and 
Players Club, the Carmel Orchid Society, the Optimists Club, Wally Byam 
Caravan Club, and the Elks Lodge #2091.
  The San Bruno City Council recently adopted a resolution naming the 
main police department conference room after Chief Cunningham. Indeed, 
no man better embodied the Council's mission statement: ``The City of 
San Bruno exists to provide exemplary services for our community that 
enhance and protect the quality of life.''
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in offering condolences 
to the family of Chief Cunningham: Rose, his wife of 66 years, as well 
as his two children, four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. 
They grieve the loss of an extraordinary man.

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