[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 114 (Thursday, September 14, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1738]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO LINDA BUTLER COSTIGAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DIANE E. WATSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 14, 2006

  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I announce the 
passing my dear friend and colleague, Linda Butler Costigan.
  Linda Butler Costigan passed away peacefully on Sept. 6, 2006 at 
Sutter Roseville Medical Center after a long battle with metastatic 
breast cancer. She was born on Dec. 20, 1946 in White Plains, NY to the 
late George and Faye Butler. She is survived by her beloved husband of 
42 years, Richard S. Costigan, Jr. (Dick) of Granite Bay, CA and sons, 
Richard, III and wife Gloria of Granite Bay, CA and Chris and wife 
Gabby, who now live in Hong Kong.
  She was the devoted ``Gram'' to her three grandchildren, Eric Samuel, 
Emma Laraine and Andrew Butler, of Granite Bay, CA. She is also 
survived by her sister, Mary Catherine Butler-Adkins and husband, Frank 
of Virginia Beach, VA.
  Linda spent the first half of her life in Norfolk, VA., but she lived 
in many places, including Miami, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, 
Sydney Australia, and Danville, CA, before settling in Granite Bay over 
16 years ago.
  Though Linda would want to be remembered as a loving wife, mother and 
grandmother, she made many contributions to the communities in which 
she lived. In Norfolk, VA she was President of the local Catholic Youth 
Organization. In Danville, she was president of the St. Isidore's PTA 
and started a fund raising auction at De La Salle in Concord that is 
still going on; she replicated that program for La Salle College High 
school when the family moved to Philadelphia.
  During those years, she was very active in Marriage Encounter and 
served on various boards. She loved college football, becoming a 
devoted follower of the University of Georgia where Richard and Gloria 
attended and the University of Alabama where Chris was a wide receiver 
on the 1989 SEC Championship team. She and Dick would often travel to 
both schools from California. She was involved in California politics 
for years, including serving as the State Private Sector Chair of the 
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) for the state of 
California for a number of years and as the national Private Sector 
Chair in the early 1990s. For her service, she received the Thomas 
Jefferson Award.
  She ran an event planning company that helped to bring policy makers 
together with advocates and those impacted by policy decisions. Her 
clients included Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson. She was also the 
secretary of the Granite Bay Municipal Advisory Council for a number of 
years when Dick served as the Chair. She also served on Board of the 
Arthritis Foundation of Northern California.
  In 2001, after her husband became sick, they moved to Hilton Head 
Island, South Carolina where they thought they would spend the rest of 
their lives. When she was rediagnosed with cancer in 2004, they moved 
back to Granite Bay. She was greatly admired by many and continued to 
positively touch many lives even in her last days fighting this 
disease. Her legacy as a devoted daughter, sister, wife, mother, 
mother-in-law, grandmother, and dear friend will be remembered and 
cherished by all she touched.

                          ____________________