[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 24, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S3653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING JOSEPH SONNEMAN

 Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I wish to remember an Alaskan 
who has recently passed away, Joseph Sonneman.
  Joe was born in and attended school in Chicago, IL, but he spent much 
of his life as an Alaska resident living in our great State. Educated 
in government finance and an attorney, Joe worked as a budget analyst, 
photographer, taxi driver, heavy equipment oiler on the Alaska 
pipeline, postal worker, and university instructor.
  Joe had a passion for public service and was active in politics his 
entire life. He was active in the Alaska Democratic Party, served as 
their treasurer, and ran for the Mayor of Juneau and participated in 
several U.S. House and U.S. Senate primaries. Having been born in 
Chicago, Joe had the pleasure of living to see Barack Obama, a 
Chicagoan, sworn in as President of the United States earlier this 
year. His political activism extended to my office as well, since Joe 
would periodically write to me to convey his views on the issues of the 
day, particularly on veterans' health care and the military.
  A veteran of the Korean war, Joe served as a radar repairman in Korea 
between 1963 and 1966. He lived for several years at the Washington 
State Veterans Home near Seattle, WA, where he courageously battled 
ALS, or Lou Gherig's disease.
  I would like to convey my condolences and God's blessings to his 
family, including his mother Edith and his sisters Eve, Toby and Milly.
  Joe, you and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers.

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