[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 28, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2429-S2430]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO ERMA ORA JAMES BYRD

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the King James version of the Bible 
tells us that shortly after the creation of man:

       The Lord God said ``It is not good that the man should be 
     alone; I will make a helpmate for him.''
       And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam.

  It continues that ``he took one of his ribs . . . and . . . made he a 
woman.''

       And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of 
     my flesh.

  The verse concludes:

       Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and 
     shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

  Mr. President, for almost 69 years, Robert Byrd and Erma Ora James 
Byrd have been one--since their marriage on May 29, 1937. And today I 
rise to offer my heartfelt condolences to the Senator from West 
Virginia, Robert Byrd, on the passing of his dear wife.
  Senator Byrd has served for nearly 50 years in the Senate as our 
cornerstone--a reminder of this body's mission and duty. Sadly, the 
cornerstone of the Senate has lost the keystone of his life. Erma Ora 
James Byrd went home to be with her Creator on this Saturday past, at 
the age of 88.
  Erma Byrd was born in Floyd County, VA, and moved to the coalfields 
of West Virginia as a child with her family. Her father was a coal 
miner and came to the State to work.
  As a Kentuckian--another State of coal miners--I was always moved to 
hear Senator Byrd proudly declare that he had, in fact, married a coal 
miner's daughter.

[[Page S2430]]

  On the Byrds' 65th wedding anniversary in 2002, Senator Byrd said:

       Erma and I are complete and whole, a total that is more 
     than the sum of its parts. In my life, Erma Ora Byrd is the 
     diamond.

  As every schoolchild in West Virginia learns, coal, when placed under 
great pressure, becomes a diamond. So it is fitting that Senator Byrd 
has the coalfields to thank for bringing his beloved Erma to him.
  The Byrds' marriage was a study of partnership, devotion, and 
teamwork. It was living proof of the deep bonds that grow between a 
loving husband and wife. My own parents were married for 50 years, so I 
have seen firsthand the strength of those bonds and know the heartache 
when they are broken--until the reunion.
  And so we grieve with our friend for his loss. Our prayers are with 
him. But we also know West Virginia's great Senator will one day be 
rejoined with his beloved Mrs. Byrd.
  May God bless our friend Robert Byrd and the Byrd family.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  I withhold that suggestion.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Connecticut.

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