[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 25, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H3998]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO MRS. CHRISTINE SARBANES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that we in the 
Maryland delegation join our colleagues in paying tribute to the late 
Mrs. Christine Sarbanes who passed away this week. She was indeed a ray 
of sunshine in the lives of many. She is already dearly missed. John, 
her son, our colleague, said to me just a few days ago that he did not 
realize that he could miss someone so much in such a short period of 
time.
  If there was only one word that could be used to describe Christine 
Sarbanes, it would be ``enthusiastic.'' But there are so many other 
words, ``kind,'' ``gentle,'' and ``concerned.'' For over 20 years, she 
was an outstanding educator and showed a genuine interest in her 
students. She encouraged them to set positive goals for themselves and 
encouraged and challenged them to do their best.
  In fact, she was instrumental in helping students develop an 
appreciation for Latin, which had proved quite useful for those seeking 
admission to college. With her dedication to teaching also came a love 
of community involvement with books. Mrs. Sarbanes often talked about 
her love of the Enoch Pratt Free Library and of libraries in general. 
She would often say that the library was her place to escape when she 
was a child to be able to basically move all around the world by 
sitting in one room.
  Christine Sarbanes was able to combine both passions as a board 
member of the Enoch Pratt Free Library which is located in Baltimore, 
in my home city, and her dedication to the libraries in the community 
recently led to the opening of the first two libraries in Baltimore in 
over 30 years.
  Mrs. Sarbanes served at one point as the vice chairman of our board 
of the independent library. But the thing that she prized the most was 
being the head of the community outreach committee of Enoch Pratt. She 
was one who consistently said that the library was the great equalizer. 
As a matter of fact, I think she met her husband in a library.
  Over and over again, she did everything she could to make sure that 
there was outreach into the community. She also would say that the 
libraries in the various communities were the neighborhood community 
centers. And she really meant that.
  The other thing she consistently did was reach out to those who were 
coming here from foreign countries and coming in as immigrants. She 
would constantly get the library to take the materials and put them in 
various languages so that when people came here, they could take full 
advantage of the services and those resources that the library had.
  Despite these successes, nothing could match the devotion that 
Christine Sarbanes had for her family as a wife, mother and 
grandmother. She was active in the campaigns of her husband, former 
Senator Paul Sarbanes, and she proudly watched her son and our 
colleague, John, become a Member of the United States House of 
Representatives.
  It is through her family that the legacy of this kind, intelligent 
and dignified woman will continue. To everyone in the Sarbanes family, 
Michael, John and Janet and all of the grandchildren, please know that 
our prayers are with you. This world is a better place due to the 
contributions of Christine Sarbanes.

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