[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 74 (Thursday, May 14, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S5498]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    REMEMBERING M. ALLYN DINGEL, JR.

 Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, today I would like to honor a fellow 
Idahoan who served the Idaho legislature, the Idaho, judiciary, the 
Episcopal Diocese of Idaho and the Idaho State Bar with honor, 
integrity, and good humor. M. Allyn Dingel, Jr., passed away at his 
home in Boise, ID, on April 23, 2009 after a courageous battle with 
lung cancer.
  Allyn was born in Twin Falls, ID, where he played baseball and was 
the student body president at Twin Falls High. He attended college at 
the University of Idaho, and continued to organize spontaneous 
renditions of the Idaho Vandal fight song, whether asked to or not.
  Allyn attended New York University Law School, where he was one of 
the top students and was a member of the NYU Law Review. Allyn worked 
for the Idaho Attorney General's Office for 3 years, and then spent 
more than 40 years in private practice. In his spare time, he served as 
Chancellor for the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho, providing extensive 
legal services pro bono.
  Allyn was a trial lawyer, and the courtroom was his stage. His 
methods were not always conventional. He had his own vocabulary, and a 
way of communicating that was sometimes humorous, but always 
believable. Allyn was a lawyer's lawyer. He was a fellow of the 
prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers. He served as Idaho's 
representative to the Ninth Circuit Commission, and was Idaho's 
delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates. The Idaho 
State Bar honored him in 2004 when he was named its Distinguished 
Lawyer, and in 2008 the Idaho Judiciary named a courtroom in Boise 
after him.
  Allyn was a lobbyist for both the insurance industry and the Idaho 
judiciary. He was especially effective as a lobbyist because he never 
forgot a political story or a point of Idaho trivia. As a lobbyist, he 
was generous with his humor and his story-telling. Shortly before his 
death, the Idaho legislature honored him with Senate Concurrent 
Resolution No. 111, which commended him for his lifetime service to the 
legislative branch of the State of Idaho.
  But for all of Allyn Dingel's many accomplishments, he will be 
remembered most for his great compassion and his ability to find the 
good in people. It was said that he never forgot, but he always 
forgave. We can imagine him at the Pearly Gates telling St. Peter some 
long story about Idaho politics. We just hope those in line behind him 
were patient as he tried to teach St. Peter the words to the Vandal 
fight song.
  I am honored to reflect on Allyn Dingel's wonderful, exemplary life, 
and pleased to call him my friend. He was an individual who made the 
most from the opportunities that presented themselves, and Idaho is 
better for that. My condolences go out to his family: his beloved wife 
Fran, his sons and their wives, Bryan and Valencia and Mike and Lori, 
and his six grandchildren. 

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