[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 21 (Monday, February 5, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              REMEMBERING STATE SENATOR WILLIAM A. TRUBAN

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                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, February 5, 2007

  Mr. WOLF. Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring the attention of the 
House to the passing of Virginia State Senator William A. Truban on 
Saturday, February 3, 2007. Senator Truban represented Virginia's 27th 
district in the Virginia General Assembly for over 20 years.
  A veterinarian and father of six from Shenandoah County, Senator 
Truban was a leader in his community and dedicated his life to helping 
those in Winchester and the surrounding area. Inserted for the Record 
is the obituary published in the Winchester Star which details the many 
accomplishments of Senator Truban.

                [From the Winchester Star, Feb. 5, 2007]

                     Former State Sen. Truban Dies

                         (By Suzanne E. Wilder)

       Winchester.--William A Truban, a longtime Virginia state 
     senator who represented Winchester and the surrounding region 
     for more than two decades, died on Saturday.
       The resident of Shenandoah County and retired veterinarian 
     was 82.
       Truban represented the state's 27th District--which then 
     included Shenandoah, Frederick, Clarke, and Warren counties 
     and the city of Winchester--from 1971 through his 1992 
     retirement from politics.
       His family and friends are mourning the loss of a man who 
     was well known in the Shenandoah Valley as ``Senator 
     Truban,'' ``Doc,'' or--to his loved ones--``Pap,'' according 
     to a statement from one of his sons, John W. Truban.
       Born in 1924 in Garrett County, Md., Truban served during 
     World War II as a member of the U.S. Army Air Force.
       After his service, he attended West Virginia Wesleyan 
     College, where he met his future wife, Mildred Hayes. He then 
     attended the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary 
     Medicine.
       John Truban, one of Truban's six children, said his parents 
     selected Woodstock and the Shenandoah Valley for their home 
     after visiting Winchester, where one of William Truban's 
     sisters lived.
       Truban became the only licensed veterinarian in Shenandoah 
     County, John Truban said.
       He worked all over the Valley and cared for animals from 
     Woodstock to Haymarket to Stephens City. His veterinary 
     practice, Shenandoah Animal Hospital, is still in business 
     though Truban retired several years ago. His son, Thomas, 
     continues to run the clinic.
       In 1970, Truban was elected to the Virginia State Senate. 
     He had been urged to run by several prominent Republicans, 
     including then-Gov. A. Linwood Holton Jr.
       ``I met him when he was under a cow,'' Holton said in a 
     telephone interview on Sunday.
       Their first phone conversation, Holton recalled, had been 
     after someone informed him that Truban was caring for a sick 
     cow.
       Holton had heard that Truban would make ``an excellent 
     candidate for state Senate,'' he said. ``And he became a 
     strong leader in the Senate.''
       ``You need good people to represent the area. He was well 
     known and well liked,'' said Warren B. French, a former 
     chairman of the state Republican party who lives in 
     Woodstock. ``And he made a great senator.''
       ``He'll be missed, but he made a valuable contribution in 
     many ways to his community,'' said French, who is a former 
     chairman at Shentel and knew Truban from the Woodstock United 
     Methodist Church.
       Many of the people who worked with him politically remember 
     Truban as a person with ``strong integrity,'' in Holton's 
     words.
       I. Clinton Miller served in the General Assembly for much 
     of the time Truban was a state senator.
       Miller represented Shenandoah County and Woodstock in the 
     House of Delegates and was also a Republican. At the time, 
     the GOP was in the minority in Virginia politics.
       ``We shared a lot of time on the road, and we shared a lot 
     of discussions,'' Miller said.
       Truban ``was especially well-repected by both sides of the 
     aisle,'' Miller said. ``He was always concerned with whatever 
     was best for Virginia.''
       John Truban said his father instilled the value of hard 
     work in his children.
       ``He loved working,'' he said. ``His hobby was working.''
       That diligent attitude likely came from growing up during 
     the Great Depression, the son said. ``His era, they had no 
     safety net.''
       ``I think what we all probably got from his is a sense of 
     working hard and . . . trying to help others,'' John Truban 
     said.
       But that was not the only trait Truban passed to his kids. 
     John Truban said his dad, who was Italian by blood, loved to 
     cook and passed the same interest to his five sons and one 
     daughter.
       ``My dad always would cook and help out in the kitchen,'' 
     he said.
       Truban had health problems in recent years, including 
     congestive heart failure. He died as a result of those 
     illnesses, John Truban said.
       Truban is survived by his wife, six children, 25 
     grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and one brother. 
     Truban's two sisters and a brother are deceased.
       A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at the 
     Woodstock United Methodist Church. Dellinger Funeral Home in 
     Woodstock is in charge of arrangements.
       Memorials may be made to the Woodstock United Methodist 
     Church, the Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary 
     Medicine at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State 
     University, and the Shenandoah County Animal Shelter.

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