[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 190 (Wednesday, December 12, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2554]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E2554]]
              A TRIBUTE TO REVEREND JOHN FREDRICK NORWOOD

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 12, 2007

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Reverend John 
Fredrick Norwood who died on December 7, 2007.
  Reverend Norwood and I were friends for over 20 years. We were 
friends in the very best sense. We stuck with each other through thick 
and thin--through victories and defeats, good times and challenging 
times. He was a great source of support for me and my husband Bob.
  Reverend Norwood (I rarely called him John) was my mentor. He advised 
me and helped me as I ran my campaigns, as I set up my offices and as I 
worked in my official capacities to serve our community.
  Reverend Norwood was a role model for me. I saw him treat those with 
the least, with the greatest respect. He helped and befriended people 
regardless of race, gender, or station in life. No one had fallen too 
far for John Norwood to offer a helping hand, often with no public 
recognition for doing so. His generosity of spirit and of material 
things had no bounds.
  Reverend Norwood was courageous. He would insert himself into 
controversies that others avoided when he knew the cause was just and 
his voice was needed, regardless of the consequences.
  Reverend Norwood was a spiritual adviser to me, something that may 
sound odd from a Jewish woman and proud member of Beth Emet synagogue. 
Next to Beth Emet, however, Mt. Zion was my spiritual home. I will 
never, ever forget the day that he prayed for me as I knelt in front of 
the church while he and members placed their hands on me. I was deeply 
touched inside and out and filled with the commitment to always do my 
best to be worthy of their blessings.
  Whether it was helping the children at that great organization Family 
Focus, serving as Senior Police Chaplain or on the District 65 school 
board, working for political candidates, or reaching into his own 
pocket to help, for example, to pay for funeral expenses for a family 
in need, Rev. Norwood was a kind and generous and loving man. His 
legacy will live on in the many people he helped, in the many 
improvements he made in our community, and in the many lives that he 
deeply touched, including mine.
  I feel so fortunate that I was able to have a wonderful afternoon 
visit with Rev. Norwood at the North Shore just days before he died. He 
was clearly so happy to be back in Evanston, and I marveled at how well 
he looked. The very next day, I was in Washington, DC with Barack Obama 
and I had him sign a photo for Rev. Norwood. I was planning to bring it 
to him for Christmas. Barack remembered him fondly from his days 
campaigning for the U.S. Senate and wrote ``To Rev. Norwood, God 
Bless.''
  And God did bless Rev. Norwood with a good life filled with loving 
family and friends and an abundance of achievements great and small. He 
is home now and sorely missed here. I loved Rev. Norwood and I always 
will. On behalf of my husband and myself, I extend our most sincere 
condolences to his family and closest friends and all who mourn the 
loss of our precious friend, Rev. John Fredrick Norwood.

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