[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 31 (Thursday, March 11, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E340]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO SHIRLEY RECTOR

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JAY INSLEE

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 10, 2004

  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sorrow that I rise on the 
House floor to mourn the passing of one of my past colleagues and 
personal friends. Although we all feel great loss with her passing and 
it is difficult to express grief for her family and all those who knew 
her, I would like to offer this tribute as a celebration of her many 
accomplishments.
  Representative Shirley J. Rector was a woman of spirit and principle. 
As one of the first women to work at Kaiser Aluminum, she took the bull 
by the horns and was elected as Steelworkers Union Local 338 
legislative education chair and recording secretary. Even at that time, 
her dedication to making the world a better place was clear.
  Shirley was committed to public service. She was vice chair of the 
Democratic Central Committee. I am honored to have been her colleague 
when she served as a member of the State of Washington House of 
Representatives where she was instrumental in passing legislation for 
both the Shared and Family Leave Acts. She was also on the SIRTI Higher 
Education Board and was co-founder of the Women Helping Women Fund. No 
one who was there will ever forget her speech which electrified the 
House concerning family and medical care.
  I am humbled by these accomplishments and I am assured that her 
legacy of strong involvement in government and community has touched 
the lives of many.

                          ____________________