[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 85 (Wednesday, June 11, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1203]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INFORMING THE HOUSE OF THE DEATH OF FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TOM 
                                 GETTYS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN M. SPRATT, JR.

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 10, 2003

  Mr. SPRATT. Mr. Speaker, I have the sad duty of informing the House 
of the death of Tom S. Gettys, who served in the House of 
Representatives from 1964 to 1974, representing the Fifth District of 
South Carolina, and served even longer as administrative assistant to 
Rep. James P. Richards.
  On Sunday, Tom Gettys and his wife, Mary Phillips, went a last time 
together to the First ARP Church in Rock Hill, South Carolina. On 
Sunday evening, he slipped quietly away, dying in the town he loved, 
where he had spent his life, much of it serving the people.
  The term ``public servant'' is often misapplied, but in the case of 
Tom Gettys, it is a perfect fit. He was a school principal and coach; 
right-hand aide to a high-ranking congressman; a naval officer who 
volunteered for duty and served in the Pacific; a postmaster; a night-
school, self-taught lawyer; and for ten years, a Member of Congress.
  As congressman, he endeared himself to the people who elected him. If 
folks in the Fifth District revered Dick Richards and admired Bob 
Hemphill, they loved Tom Gettys. They loved him because he had an easy-
going affinity for all sorts of people, and because he put his 
constituents first and worked hard for them, and they knew it.
  When he was at the top of his form, Tom Gettys retired. He had the 
good grace not to hang on in Washington to capitalize on his 
relationships, but instead came back to Rock Hill, hung out his shingle 
and practiced law. As a young lawyer, I used to run into him checking 
titles with the rest of us in the clerk of court's office. This was the 
self-deprecating side of the man that people appreciated. He took his 
work seriously, but never himself.
  I saw this side of Tom Gettys when I was in Washington in the 1970s 
and walked with him to the House floor. Tom knew the capitol police, 
the elevator operators, the doorkeepers, all by first name. He told me 
later that having been a staffer, he knew who ran the House.
  I got an even better insight when Tom visited me soon after I was 
elected. I begged him to sit and talk, but could tell he had something 
else on his mind, and soon found out what it was. He wanted to go 
downstairs to the Longworth Cafeteria and speak to Odessa. Odessa ran 
the breakfast line, and was a spirited soul, full of chatter and 
advice, which she dished out freely while you decided how you wanted 
your eggs. Tom seldom came to Capitol Hill without visiting Odessa.
  Tom Gettys belonged to the old school, to the era before pollsters, 
spin-masters, and 30-second spots, and he often told me, it was a good 
thing. He enjoyed introducing me as the ``second-best looking 
congressman to represent the 5th District.'' I enjoyed telling him, 
``Tom, if good looks had anything to do with being elected to this 
office, you would have lost to Bate Harvey in 1964.'' He was not some 
political artifact, crafted to win elections. He was the genuine 
article--of the people, by the people, for the people. When many of his 
conservative colleagues voted against Medicare, Tom Gettys stood with 
his people. He voted for it, and was proud of it.
  If he were to give his own farewell, he would tell us that marrying 
Mary Phillips White surpassed all of his achievements, and Julia and 
Beth were their crowning glory. He was a doting grandparent and used to 
say that if he had the chance to come back after dying, he would want 
come back as one of his grandchildren.
  Those of us who learned from Tom Gettys and looked up to him will 
miss him. We will miss the wisdom he shared with us, and the stories 
that never grew old. He exemplified what life in a democracy is about. 
He earned the satisfaction every public servant wants: he left his 
country better than he found it.

                          ____________________