[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 74 (Thursday, May 14, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1164-E1165]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO THE LATE WALTER HIERSTEINER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 14, 2009

  Mr. MOORE of Kansas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my 
longtime, good friend, Walter Hiersteiner. He was an outstanding 
community leader in the Kansas City metropolitan area. A resident of 
Prairie Village, Kansas, Walt died on May 2nd at the age of 90, having 
lived a rich, full life that made a positive difference in the lives of 
his many friends and neighbors.
  Walt was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and attended the University of 
Iowa and Harvard Law School, where he was a member of the law review. 
After serving in the Navy in World War II, he moved to Kansas City to 
practice law and later joined Tension Envelope, where he became vice 
chairman of the board of directors. Walt's first love was his family, 
especially his wife, Jean, and his grandchildren, to whom he was 
unconditionally devoted.
  Walt was also devoted to his community. He was elected to the City 
Council of Fairway, Kansas. He served over 40 years on the Menorah 
Medical Center Board of Directors and was a member of the Executive 
Committee of the Truman Medical Center and the Truman Medical Center 
Foundation. He was active in the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and 
the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce and was a member of the Board of 
Directors of Move-Up, which was formerly the Kansas City Ad Hoc Group 
Against Crime. He was a founding member of the Main Street Coalition. 
His passions, after family and golf, were enhancing public school 
education for the children of Shawnee Mission and the State of Kansas. 
He was elected to the Shawnee Mission School District Board of 
Education. He was appointed by Governor Robert Docking to serve on the 
Kansas Board of Regents and became chairman of that board. In addition 
he was co-chairman of the Committee for Excellence of the Shawnee 
Mission Schools and served on the Board of Governors of Kansas 
University Law School and the Kansas Higher Education Loan Program. 
These activities earned him the Kansas City Spirit Award and the 
Shawnee Mission Education Foundation Patron Award for service and 
support of Johnson County Schools. He was named Johnson Countian of the 
Year. Walt and Jean established the Walter and Jean Hiersteiner Early 
Childhood Development Center at the Johnson County Community College.
  Walt is survived by Jean, his wife of 65 years; four children, Dick 
and Erica Hiersteiner of Boston, Massachusetts, Mary and David Ruedig 
of Concord, New Hampshire, Joe and Cathy Hiersteiner of Kansas City, 
and Dottie and Peter Oatman of Boulder, Colorado; nine grandchildren 
and his brother, Stanley of Des Moines, Iowa; his sister Shirley 
Feldman of Sleepy Hollow, New York, and several nieces and nephews.
  Madam Speaker, Walt Hiersteiner was a vitally important community 
leader and activist in the Third Congressional District of Kansas, as 
well as my personal friend for many years. I include with this tribute 
two press articles that detail some of his many accomplishments for our 
community; a 2002 column in the Kansas City Business Journal by former 
Kansas City Board of Trade President/CEO Michael Braude, and an article 
that the Kansas City Star carried upon Walt's death. Both detail the 
impact that Walt Hiersteiner had upon the Kansas City community, and 
explain why he will be sorely missed by all of us.

        [From the Kansas City Business Journal, Sept. 27, 2002]

       Local Executive Leaves His Mark on Health Care, Education

                          (By Michael Braude)

       I am not bad at hyperbole--but hyperbole is impossible when 
     it comes to the subject of today's column.
       ``Role model,'' ``pillar of our community,'' ``business 
     leader with a true social conscience'' all fail to do justice 
     to Walter Hiersteiner. His considerable accomplishments in 
     the business world as a top executive at Tension Envelope 
     Corp. are eclipsed only by his pivotal role in making our 
     community a better place. His imprint on health and education 
     in the heartland is indelible.
       John W. Bluford, CEO at Truman Medical Centers, said:
       ``Walter Hiersteiner has been a tremendous asset to Truman 
     Medical Centers for a number of years and in a number of 
     ways. In addition to his financial support, which has 
     provided, among other gifts, scholarships for nurses, he has 
     given moral support and advice to TMC through his formal 
     roles as member of the TMC board of directors and TMC 
     Charitable Foundation. But most of all, Walt has acted as 
     conscience, sage, statesman and mentor. He is our 'go to' 
     man, and when we go to him, he always delivers.''
       At all levels of education, Walter has left his positive 
     imprint. Marjorie Kaplan, superintendent of the Shawnee 
     Mission School District, told me recently:
       ``Walt is a truly fine person with many talents. He has a 
     passion for learning and is an articulate spokesperson for 
     providing a quality education for all children. He 
     understands the connection between public schooling and 
     quality of life. Ever interested and ever active, Walt has 
     never lost his enthusiasm for supporting just causes and 
     improving our community.
       ``A longtime supporter of our school district, Walt has 
     served on the Shawnee Mission Board of Education and as 
     chairperson and member of numerous committees. With his sharp 
     mind, his ability to analyze situations and solve problems, 
     Walt has been an asset to Shawnee Mission for over 3o 
     years.''
       It was on school issues that I first met Walter, and I now 
     have been privileged to call him friend for more than 3o 
     years. Before unification, when I ran for the old Westwood 
     View School Board, it was his sage counsel that enabled me to 
     win the election. Now, more than three decades later, when I 
     want to know what is really going on at any level of 
     education in our area, I call Walt. Walt also calls me. Since 
     I've been writing for The Business Journal, he never 
     hesitates to call when he either agrees or disagrees with 
     my point of view. Frankly, when the latter is the case, I 
     always pause and ask myself: ``Was I wrong?'' This is 
     simply because I have so much respect for his judgment and 
     opinions. Walt's position on issues or candidates is never 
     based on ideology or party affiliation but rather on what 
     he believes is best for the people of Kansas City. That is 
     precisely how it should be.
       Walter's longtime friend Paul Uhlmann Jr. captured the 
     essence of the man when he said:
       ``Walter has had a major effect on life in greater Kansas 
     City. His high offices held, in many diverse organizations, 
     are proof of his ability and of his stature. However, his 
     real

[[Page E1165]]

     work is, in my opinion, his ability to give moral leadership 
     to the not-for-profit marketplace world and intellectual 
     force to problem-solving.
       ``All the above with a soft voice, a mild and pleasant 
     manner, a bow tie, a firm jaw and an unshakeable faith in our 
     country and its ability to solve its, and maybe the world's, 
     problems.''
       A lengthy editorial in a recent edition of the Sunday New 
     York Times decried the fact that the national mood of 
     ``wanting to make the world a better place'' that was so 
     pervasive after Sept. 11, 2001, has largely evaporated.
       Walter personified and daily lived that credo long before 
     9/11, and he will continue to do so for the rest of his life. 
     It did not take a monumental national tragedy to light the 
     spark of true community service in this extraordinary human 
     being.
       As John Bluford, Marjorie Kaplan, Paul Uhlmann and I look 
     objectively at Walter Hiersteiner, almost any adjective we 
     use is not hyperbole; it is understatement. We are so 
     fortunate to have him in our community.
                                  ____


                [From the Kansas City Star, May 8, 2009]

  ``Mr. Shawnee Mission,'' Walter Hiersteiner, was ``voice of reason''

                           (By Jim Sullinger)

       The late 1960s could arguably be called the most 
     challenging period in the history of the Shawnee Mission 
     School District.
       The northeast Johnson County community faced a decision 
     that was hotly debated at the time--school consolidation.
       The area's elementary schools were divided among 12 small 
     school districts, and the Kansas Legislature was demanding 
     that they consolidate with the Shawnee Mission district's 
     high schools and junior highs.
       In the mid-1960s, voters defeated a consolidation effort by 
     a large margin. That didn't stop the Legislature, however, 
     from passing Senate Bill 58 in 1969 that required 
     consolidation that year.
       Emotions were running high on the part of parents who faced 
     the loss of their elementary districts.
       Into the fray stepped Walter Hiersteiner, elected to an at-
     large position on the Shawnee Mission School Board in April 
     1969. He worked tirelessly that year to convince skeptical 
     parents that this was the right move and smoothed the way for 
     the transition.
       Arzell Ball was school superintendent at the time and 
     remembered Hiersteiner's contributions.
       ``He was a consensus builder,'' Ball said, ``He could 
     motivate and direct others, and his communication skills were 
     just excellent. And he had the respect of the community 
     because he gave back to the community all the time.''
       He was a calming presence during that difficult period and 
     later when the district began closing schools.
       David Westbrook, the district's first communications 
     director, said Hiersteiner was dedicated to public education 
     and his voice will be missed.
       Hiersteiner, 90, died last weekend.
       ``He was critically important to the school district at a 
     time the district was going through some trying times right 
     after unification,'' Westbrook said.
       He said there was friction on the school board between 
     moderates and newly elected conservatives.
       ``He was a voice of reason and stood for principle and was 
     firm in his convictions, but that firmness was balanced by a 
     humble open-mindedness,'' he said.
       Friends remembered that when a school was scheduled to be 
     closed, Hiersteiner would consult influential contacts to 
     come up with another use for the property that would make the 
     closing a little more palatable for the surrounding 
     neighborhoods.
       He served on the school board until 1973 and as president 
     during his last two years on the board.
       During the 1980s, Hiersteiner was a founder and co-chairman 
     of the Committee for Excellence in Shawnee Mission Schools, 
     which is still operating today as the Committee for 
     Excellence. He was a leader in efforts to pass several school 
     bond issues and an advocate for more school dollars.
       He was appointed by former Gov. Robert F. Bennett to the 
     Kansas Board of Regents and became chairman of that board. He 
     also served on the Board of Governors of the Kansas 
     University Law School and the Kansas Higher Education Loan 
     Program.
       If anyone deserved the title ``Mr. Shawnee Mission,'' it 
     was Hiersteiner, who was an executive at Tension Envelope 
     Corporation for more than 60 years and a Harvard Law School 
     graduate.
       ``He was without a doubt the finest advocate for public 
     schools that we ever saw previously and maybe we ever will,'' 
     said Larry Winn III, a current board member. ``He inspired a 
     lot of people who came after him.''
       Annabeth Surbaugh, chairwoman of the Johnson County Board 
     of Commissioners, said she will remember Hiersteiner as ``Mr. 
     Education.''
       ``It's true that his primary focus was the Shawnee Mission 
     School District, but his strong commitment to top-quality 
     education wasn't limited by boundaries,'' she said. ``He 
     truly believed it was our responsibility--as a community--to 
     ensure that our children had the very best education 
     possible, and he was a staunch advocate for that cause.''

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