[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 109 (Tuesday, September 14, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H7075]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           TRIBUTE TO BEN JEFFERSON: VETERAN, LEADER, CITIZEN

  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, it is my sad duty to inform this House and 
the people of Arizona of the passing of the Veterans Affairs 
Coordinator for the people of the Fifth Congressional District of 
Arizona, Ben Jefferson. Ben lost his battle with leukemia at 1 o'clock 
a.m. Arizona time Monday. Mary and I were privileged to be with Ben 
Sunday afternoon prior to his passing, and we reflect back on a 
remarkable life of service.
  Mr. Speaker, too often what we do is described as public service. 
That is an honor and an accolade, but ultimately it is somewhat 
inaccurate, for what we are involved in is public office. But public 
service is a dimension that does not require election to office; it 
instead requires a spirit of servanthood, and that spirit of service 
sums up the life of Ben Jefferson.
  Ben moved to Phoenix as a very young boy from Louisiana. He saw 
Phoenix grow, and, as he grew, so too did that responsibility of 
service, made manifest by a career in the Navy, a career which saw him 
as a medical corpsman in Korea, which saw him again answer the call to 
duty in Vietnam, which literally took him around the world, even for a 
year's duty at the research station at the South Pole.
  Ben had a heart for people. And how fortunate I was, and, indeed, Mr. 
Speaker, those of us who serve here are honored by one of the 
gratifying mysteries of running for public office, which is that good 
people cross your path, and, more amazingly, those good people are 
willing to donate their time and their energy and their enthusiasm, 
first to campaigns and then as support staff.
  So it was for Ben Jefferson. After a career in the Navy, after a 
career in business, stepping forward first in a campaign, and then 
assuming a role that he prepared for throughout his life, that of 
service to our Nation's veterans and the important role that the 
military plays, not only for retirees, but for those young people who 
aspire to attend a service academy.
  It was Ben Jefferson who put together the groups for the Army and the 
Navy and the Air Force, who would review the candidates and candidacies 
of those who aspire to attend our Nation's academies. Ben Jefferson 
would be along my side when I would have one of the most gratifying 
experiences any Member of this House can have, when you call a young 
person and their family to inform them that they have been accepted at 
one of our military academies.
  The same Ben Jefferson would take calls from veterans who had 
questions about their benefits, veterans who needed help at the 
hospital, veterans who had fallen on hard times, and always Ben 
Jefferson was willing to help.
  We celebrate his life, even as we mourn his passing, his wife, Bette, 
his children, his relatives who will gather in Arizona later this week 
to remember this remarkable man.
  At one point in his life he thought he would be called into the 
ministry. But it turned out his ministry was not from the pulpit, it 
was not as a pastor per se. Instead, in the spirit of James in the New 
Testament, it was not wrapped up in talk and good wishes, it was 
service and action and stepping forward to help people. Indeed, Mr. 
Speaker, on what became his deathbed, Ben Jefferson spoke about 
constituents in need and friends who faced similar challenges of 
disease, always in a spirit of what can I do to help?
  In those last minutes when Mary and I were with Ben and with his wife 
Bette and with other loved ones, I could not help but reflect on the 
words I think he has heard by now: ``Well done, good and faithful 
servant.''
  Ben Jefferson: Veteran, leader, citizen. We will always remember you 
and all you did for the people of Arizona.

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