[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 69 (Monday, May 23, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1063-E1064]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO ROY B. KEPPY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES A. LEACH

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 23, 2005

  Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, this weekend was marked by the passing of Roy 
B. Keppy.
  Roy Keppy was a symbol of Iowa. No family farmer has ever been held 
in higher esteem. No hog producer has won more honors or been more 
revered.
  Roy's concerns were always for quality. Whether raising hogs, corn, 
soy beans or children, his work ethic was the same. Every moment of 
every day he worked to the best of his ability, and then some more.
  While Roy's formal education ended at J.B. Young Middle School in 
Davenport, he earned a Ph.D. in life. He was a leader: on the farm, in 
his community, for his country. At various points in time, he coaxed 
more corn and beans per acre from his wonderful Scott County soil than 
anyone in the state, and he raised hogs which won more state and 
national blue ribbons than anyone in the history of hog competitions.
  At the community level, he led, it seemed, every farm organization; 
at the national level, he headed Farmers for Ford and played a key 
agricultural role in the election of two presidents named Bush. As for 
Congress, there is no individual whose advice I respected more; no one 
to whom I am more indebted.
  Two anecdotes stand out. One was a comment the former Secretary of 
Agriculture Earle Butz made to me. He said one day that the finest 
agricultural speech he ever heard was given by Roy Keppy when it was 
announced he would lead President Ford's agricultural team. What was so 
impressive about this comment was the fact that Earle Butz was 
generally considered the best public speaker on agriculture in his 
generation. But he deferred to Roy Keppy.
  The second is about the time Roy manipulated a cord in his barn so 
that when his guest, George W. Bush, was speaking, gentle pieces of 
corn would fall on his slightly balding pate. The Secret Service never 
understood what a mischievous host the candidate they were assigned to 
protect had.
  Roy's passing symbolizes the end of an era in Iowa life.
  As we his friends contemplate and, in effect, celebrate, the meaning 
of his time on earth, we too are obligated to work hard to insure that 
Roy's death does not mark the end of a breed. Roy will always stand 
out, but our country will be diminished if he is the last of the hands-
on farmers who by second nature serve their community and then by 
acclamation of their peers, unrelated to gall or personal ambition, are 
asked to provide leadership to their country.

[[Page E1064]]

  Roy Keppy will be much missed. Most poignantly by this Member of 
Congress.

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