[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 117 (Friday, August 1, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S10879]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO ROBERT S. WINER

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to express a personal note of 
grief and fond remembrance as I pay tribute to one of my dearest 
friends, Bob Winer, who passed away on July 18.
  Bob was born in Brooklyn, NY, moved to New Jersey, and joined the 
Navy when he was 17 and proudly served in the Pacific during World War 
II.
  After the war, he joined his two brothers in a clothing manufacturing 
business begun by their father many years earlier. The company, Winer 
Industries, was located in Paterson, NJ, where I was born.
  I first met Bob when I called upon him to use my company--ADP--to 
handle his payroll and other data processing needs. He became a client 
and a good friend almost immediately; our friendship grew and grew over 
the next 40 years.
  Bob truly was larger than life. We shared common interests like 
skiing, boating, and feasting. Bob had a zest for living that few could 
match. He traveled extensively. He enjoyed spear-fishing, often 
surrounded by sharks and barracuda, and taught his children and his 
friends to be comfortable in that environment. He owned airplanes and 
was a great pilot with thousands of hours to his credit, and I spent 
many hours as his co-pilot. He suggested that I take flying lessons, 
asking me what I might do if he suddenly ``slumped over the wheel.'' My 
response was that if that were to happen, I would slump over the wheel, 
too! He seemed indestructible.
  The best thing about Bob's zeal for living was his insistence on 
sharing it with lots of family and friends. He let his 8-year-old 
nephew land a twin-engine plane--at night. That might strike some 
people as foolhardy but the thing about Bob was that he had so much 
confidence, so much skill, and so much courage, he inspired it in 
others.
  Bob did well in life. He lived in Morristown, NJ, and had homes in 
Nantucket, Vermont, and Florida, and lots of friends in many places. 
Yet, he was about as unassuming as someone can be.
  But more important, Bob did so much good in life, too. When Bob's 
brother and sister-in-law were killed in a plane crash, Bob and his 
wonderful wife Elaine, with their three daughters--Trisha, Laurie, and 
Jill--helped raise his brother's children, Jeannie, Ken, and Larry, as 
their own.
  I think we grow or shrink in direct proportion to our generosity. Bob 
was the most generous person I have ever met and everyone who knew him 
would say that it was apparent in everything he did. It was a rare 
privilege to know him and I was proud to call him my friend.
  Bob was devoted to his family and friends, his business and 
community, and our country. He was a veteran, a philanthropist, and an 
adventurer. Above all, he was an extraordinary human being.
  In 1899, Robert Ingerson, a known essayist who lost a brother, wrote 
these words which I think provide a fitting tribute to Bob, who was 
like a brother to me:

       He added to the sum of human joy; and were everyone to whom 
     he did some loving service to bring a blossom to his grave, 
     he would sleep tonight beneath a wilderness of flowers.

  Few people on this earth have done more than Bob Winer to ``add to 
the sum of human joy.'' So, while we grieve his death and hold him and 
his family in our prayers, it's also appropriate to celebrate his life, 
a life so richly lived.
  He will be sorely missed by family and friends, and in my life, a 
tear will fall every time I think of him.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Hawaii.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted 
to speak for up to 30 minutes in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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