[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 13 (Wednesday, February 9, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E199]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO ANDREW KEENAN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 9, 2005

  Mr. MOORE of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
young man whose life was cut tragically short. Andrew Keenan, a 
resident of Ness City, Kansas, a former intern in my congressional 
office and a law student at the University of Kansas, passed away on 
January 31, at the age of 26, following a protracted battle with brain 
cancer. I would like to express my profound sorrow at the death of 
Andrew Keenan and offer my deepest sympathies to his fiancee, Erica 
Brown, his family, and friends.
  Andy was a man of exemplary character, a character demonstrated by 
his religious faith, his determination to succeed, and his uncommon 
courage in the face of hardship and illness. He was also a man of great 
industriousness, ambition, and amiability, qualities which made him 
respected and well-liked by everyone who knew him. While interning in 
my Washington, DC, office, he assisted my legislative director with 
issues involving financial services, taxation and telecommunications.
  Andy was also possessed a great sense of empathy and the heart of a 
true humanitarian. His efforts to aid the unfortunate took many forms, 
including the creation of a Web site dedicated to raising money for 
cancer research, providing food and clothing to a young girl in the 
Philippines through an adoption program, and, recently, donating money 
to victims of the tsunami. The fact that he always felt compassion for 
people who were suffering, even while suffering himself, is a testament 
to the kind of benevolent and caring of person he was.
  As University of Kansas law professor Mike Hoeflich wrote recently in 
the Lawrence Journal-World, ``For almost two years now, Andy has fought 
and fought and fought. He has refused to give up. In spite of his 
illness, his pain, his constant treatments, he has maintained his 
courage and his determination.'' I believe that this quotation 
exemplifies how the enduring strength and bravery of Andrew Keenan 
serves as an inspiration to all of us who were touched by his life, and 
encourages us all to lead a more thoughtful, more courageous existence.

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