[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 20 (Thursday, February 7, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RECOGNIZING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF PAUL J. ABBATE

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 7, 2008

  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and recognize the 
life and service of Paul J. Abbate, former Guam Superior Court 
Presiding Judge. Judge Abbate passed away on Saturday, February 2, 2008 
in Pomfret, Maryland at the age of 88.
  Judge Abbate served our Nation as a Commander in the U.S. Navy's 
Judge Advocate General Corps for over 20 years. Upon his retirement 
from the Navy, he accepted an appointment by Governor of Guam Manuel 
F.L. Guerrero to be the Attorney General of Guam. With the retirement 
of Presiding Judge Joaquin C. Perez in 1969, Governor Guerrero 
appointed Paul Abbate to serve as a Judge for the Superior Court of 
Guam, where he served for 19 years, 13 of which were as the Presiding 
Judge. As Presiding Judge, he initiated plans for the construction of 
the new Guam Judicial Center, the complex that today houses the 
Superior Court and Supreme Courts of Guam. Judge Abbate was noted for 
his well-reasoned rulings, but also for his fairness and impartiality 
in the court. Following his retirement from Guam's judicial system, he 
served as Director of Governor Joseph Washington Liaison Office in 
Washington, DC.
  Judge Abbate's service to Guam was evident in more than just the 
courtroom. He committed his life to the Catholic Church as a deacon for 
the Archdiocese of Hagatna and in his church in the mainland. He 
assisted in the major renovations and improvements to the Dulce Nombre 
de Maria Cathedral Basilica in Guam's capital of Hagatna and helped in 
the preparations for the visit of Pope John Paul II on March 1, 1981.
  On behalf of the people of Guam, I extend our sincere condolences and 
deepest sympathies to his son Michael S. Abbate and his wife Cindy, his 
daughter Maria T. Rossi and her husband, John, his six grandchildren 
and four great grandchildren. Judge Abbate will always be remembered by 
the people of Guam as a dedicated member of the legal community and a 
devoted member of the Guam's Catholic community.

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