[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 31, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H4216]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            ELMO D. ROEBUCK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, this week in my district, the U.S. 
Virgin Islands, the people are gathering to bid farewell to one of our 
native sons, the honorable Elmo D. Roebuck. After having lived a life 
of public service, community activism, and cultural promotion, Roebuck 
passed away last week at the age of 74.
  A political mover and shaker, Roebuck was one of the men who led and 
molded the U.S. Virgin Islands in its formative years. He, along with 
others, was responsible for the early successes of the territory on its 
road to self-governance. He was a mentor, a strategist, and a fervent 
fighter for the cause of the people of the Virgin Islands.
  He was born in 1934 to Ector and Nathalia Roebuck and graduated 
valedictorian of the class of 1952 at the Charlotte Amalie High School 
in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. In 1956, he graduated from what is 
now Hampton University in Virginia with a bachelor of arts degree in 
business administration. Returning to the Virgin Islands, Roebuck 
taught at the Charlotte Amalie High School and held several government 
posts before becoming the youngest Virgin Islander to hold a Cabinet-
level post in 1964, when he was named by the late Governor Ralph 
Paiewonsky to head the Department of Housing and Community Renewal.
  He later joined the Unity Party and then became one of the organizers 
of the new Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands in the 1970s, running 
as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor with the late Alexander 
Farrelly. The team lost that election, but he entered politics once 
again in 1972, becoming the highest vote-getter in the St. Thomas-St. 
John district in the race for a seat in the Virgin Islands Legislature.
  Roebuck went on to serve six consecutive terms in that body, becoming 
chair of the finance committee in the 10th and 14th legislatures, and 
the President of that body in the 11th, 12th and 15th legislaures.
  Mr. Roebuck is most remembered for his leadership in transforming 
housing in the territory. As commissioner of Housing Community Renewal, 
he was responsible for the formulation of an aggressive plan that 
provided a safe, decent home for every Virgin Islander. He oversaw the 
clearance of blighted, slum areas and the creation of modern 
neighborhoods across the Virgin Islands.
  In 2005 in an interview with the online newspaper the VI Source, Mr. 
Roebuck recounted that his biggest accomplishment was the ``shepherding 
through of the Coastal Zone Management Commission,'' the body that 
oversees the development and preservation of one of the Virgin Islands 
most treasured resources, its coastal areas.
  During his tenure in the VI Legislature, he was responsible for the 
creation of the Post Audit Division, which improved that body's ability 
to track government finances and advise senators on critical issues 
before that body.
  Roebuck was also a Virgin Islands tradition bearer. Having learned 
the art of telling folktales with music and humor from his father 
Ector, he would share them with schoolchildren and anyone who wanted to 
enjoy the rich history and culture of the Virgin Islands people.
  Mr. Speaker, the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands are saddened by 
the loss of Elmo Roebuck, whose community spirit was well noted in his 
legislative and administrative accomplishments; his service to his 
church and service organizations; and his sharing of Virgin Islands 
stories with young and old.
  During his lifetime, he was knighted by the Queen of Denmark and 
honored by the Virgin Islands Legislature in 2003. This week he is 
being remembered for his cultural contributions with a storytelling 
wake at the Virgin Islands Legislature, and on Thursday, he will be 
laid to rest in a final goodbye by the people who served and loved him 
well.
  I would like to express my condolences to his wife and his children 
and grandchildren. May they be comforted at this difficult time with 
the knowledge that his life was a life well lived.

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