[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 141 (Wednesday, October 8, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2021]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO MRS. JUDITH ROLLE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. KENDRICK B. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 8, 2003

  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I 
rise this evening to pay tribute to the late Judith James Rolle, the 
wife of Miami-Dade County Commissioner Dorrin Rolle. Mrs. Rolle passed 
away September 29, 2003 of breast cancer.
  It has been my experience that people who become nurses are very 
special people--people who are somehow able to combine competence with 
caring, who have the gift of healing people and making them feel better 
not only with science and medicine, but with their very presence. That 
was certainly the case with Judith Rolle.
  She had a nursing career that spanned 33 years at both Mt. Sinai 
Hospital and the Miami Heart Institute. As a nurse she had a knack for 
caring for patients, for managing other nurses, for problem solving and 
for acting as a diplomatic go-between for nurses and doctors and 
administrators--all essential skills in caring for patients in a 
hospital setting.
  Her multiple roles and abilities, her efficiency and success endeared 
her to many and earned her the affectionate knickname ``Judge Judy.'' 
But Judith Rolle was no TV character; she was the real thing.
  She held positions as Floor Nurse and Head Nurse in the Medical and 
Surgical Departments, Public Health Nurse in-charge of home visits to 
patients, and Supervisory Nurse of the Intensive Care Unit.
  While at the Miami Heart Institute, she was also a Nurse in the 
Anesthesiology Department, a Coordinator in the hospital's Education 
Department, and a Case Manager in the Case Management Department.
  This remarkable lady was my friend and a confidante of countless 
people throughout our community. When ``Judge Judy'' retired from 
nursing in 1998, she simply moved to another form of public service--
assisting her husband in his successful campaigns for the Miami Dade 
County Commission and expanding her participation as an active member 
of her church community and service organizations.
  It is for these reasons that our community was so deeply saddened by 
her passing. Everyone who met ``Judge Judy'' was struck by her strong 
spirit and sunny disposition. You knew you were in the presence of a 
caring and compassionate person.
  Last Saturday at 11:00 a.m., October 4, 2003, at her Homegoing 
Services celebrated at New Jerusalem Primitive Baptist Church in Miami, 
her family and many friends and supporters gathered together to 
celebrate her life and the impact she had on the lives of all who knew 
her.
  My heart goes out to her family. I know I speak for our entire 
community in saying how fortunate we were to have known her.

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