[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 170 (Monday, November 5, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2316]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF HONORABLE JUDGE EDGAR C. NEMOYER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BRIAN HIGGINS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, November 5, 2007

  Mr. HIGGINS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor my dear friend, and 
an outstanding citizen of Buffalo and western New York, the Honorable 
Edgar C. ``Mickey'' NeMoyer. Mickey was a neighbor and a longtime 
friend and mentor; a great South Buffalonian, and a dear friend whose 
sudden passing this past weekend is a great shock to us all.
  Mickey was born in Buffalo's First Ward in 1932, and soon after 
graduated from St. Theresa's Grammar School and Canisius High School, 
Mick pursued his higher education at Georgetown University, the 
University at Buffalo Law School, and the University of Wisconsin Law 
School. Later he shared his love and knowledge of the government 
process by teaching others as an Associate Professor at the State 
University of New York Albany Graduate School of Criminal Justice.
  As a young man, Mickey served this Nation in the United States Air 
Force, rising to the rank of captain. Following military service, 
Mickey returned to the city of Buffalo and took a hands-on approach to 
law enforcement by joining the Buffalo Police Department, while at the 
same time working as a longshoreman as he made his way through law 
school. After earning his law degree he answered the call again, 
working in the general counsel's office of the U.S. Public Health 
Administration during the tenure of President John F. Kennedy.
  Upon returning to Buffalo, Mickey began a long and distinguished 
career as an attorney and judge, working in private practice with the 
firm Boreanaz, NeMoyer, and Baker, and later serving as Deputy 
Corporation Counsel for the city of Buffalo. Mickey's legal and 
prosecutorial career flourished, as he served as an Assistant United 
States Attorney and later as First Assistant and Acting United States 
Attorney for the Western District of New York. His distinguished career 
was capped by his service as a justice of the New York State Supreme 
Court and by his 17 years as a justice of the New York State Court of 
Claims.
  As a judge, the law prohibited Mickey from engaging in partisan 
politics. But it was throughout this time that he became a great mentor 
to me and someone to whom I consistently looked for advice and counsel 
throughout my own career. Indeed, in January 1999, as a newly-elected 
member of the New York State Legislature, I was honored to have my oath 
of office administered by the Honorable Justice Edgar C. NeMoyer. 
Fittingly, it was his example that helped to drive my own ambition to 
serve.
  In his retirement years, Mickey and his loving wife Josephine were 
regulars on the political circuit in south Buffalo and throughout Erie 
County. Dozens of elected officials and would-be officials sought his 
counsel, and he and Josephine were great supporters of Democrats 
throughout our region. It was delightful to see Mickey during these 
times; unfettered by the political constraints placed upon a member of 
the bench, he was free to express himself politically, and we were all 
the better for it.
  Mickey's love for the law and for our community was surpassed only by 
his love for his family, including his brother, New York State Supreme 
Court Justice Patrick H. NeMoyer, his children, Patricia, Daniel and 
Michael, and the late Michelle and Nora, and his grandchildren, whom he 
loved and spoke about so often.
  When someone you love passes on suddenly, we always express gratitude 
that our friend and loved one did not suffer, but pain remains for 
those left behind. I am thankful, Madam Speaker, that you have allowed 
me to recognize a great and proud son of south Buffalo, the late 
Honorable Judge Edgar C. NeMoyer, a devoted advocate and defender of 
the laws and principles on which this great Nation was founded. His 
work to make this community safer and stronger will be sorely missed 
though his spirit lives on through the many lives he touched.

                          ____________________