[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 25 (Friday, February 9, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E304-E305]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IN MEMORY OF WILLIAM A. LUCKING, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 8, 2007

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Madam Speaker, I rise in memory of my friend, Bill 
Lucking, who died at home earlier this week at the age of 89, 
surrounded by generations of family.
  There are not enough pages in the Congressional Record to do justice 
to the life of William A. Lucking Jr. He was a decorated World War II 
combat veteran, a horseman, a rancher, a hunter, a world traveler, an 
attorney, a community volunteer, and an outdoorsman as comfortable on 
land as he was on or below the water. Bill also was active in 
Republican politics, including being a delegate to the Republican 
Convention that nominated Richard Nixon in 1960, much to the chagrin of 
his Democratic father.
  Bill Lucking would say that he worked hard and played hard. Raised in 
the Ventura County, California, community of Ojai, he bought more than 
200 acres of rugged land there in 1956--6 years after he passed the 
California

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bar--and turned it into a thriving citrus and avocado ranch. His home 
there is testament to his world travels, filled with such treasures as 
maps and ancient pottery.
  Bill served during World War II as a Navy Reserve ensign and skipper 
on coastal defense sailboats and as executive officer of the radar 
picket Pritchett (DD-561). It was on the Pritchett that he earned a 
Bronze Star for using a whaleboat to rescue sailors from the sinking 
USS Callaghan in the Pacific Theater.
  Bill's love of the ocean continued throughout his life. He was a body 
surfer and a founder of the South Jetty Swells, and a diver who 
explored the sunken Winfield Scott off Anacapa Island. He put his 
horse-riding skills to use riding with the Ventura County Sheriff's 
Posse and Rancheros Adolfo--when he wasn't riding in Death Valley, 
Oregon, or with the Navajo in Arizona.
  Bill was partner with many attorneys who went on to become judges. 
Bill also was offered judgeships, but turned them down. As he told a 
reporter in a 1970 interview, ``I enjoy being on one side or the 
other.''
  In politics, he was squarely on the side of the Republican Party and 
was responsible for helping launch many a stellar political career, 
including that of my friend and mentor, a former member of this body, 
Bob Lagomarsino. Not only have they been close personal friends since 
the '50s, (``We called each other `Cuz' because he was married to my 
wife's cousin,'' Bob recalled), but Bill also was instrumental in Bob 
running for the California Senate in 1961. Bob credits Bill for keeping 
the party in Ventura County strong in good times and bad.
  True to a life lived on his own terms, when Bill learned the end was 
near, he left the hospital to ``be at home, in front of the fire, with 
his arm around (his wife) Lucy,'' recalled his daughter, Helen.
  Madam Speaker, I know my colleagues will join me in remembering Bill 
Lucking for a life lived to the fullest, who made contributions great 
and small in war and in peace, and who serves as an inspiration to all 
Americans.
  Godspeed, Bill.

                          ____________________