[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 102 (Thursday, July 9, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING THE LIFE OF HENRY ARISTIDE ``RED'' BOUCHER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 9, 2009

  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the life of 
Henry Aristide ``Red'' Boucher, 88, who died June 19, 2009. Mr. Boucher 
was a civic and political institution in his adopted home state of 
Alaska. He also was a dedicated family man with 12 children, 27 
grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. I became aware of Mr. 
Boucher through a family friendship with his daughter, Jennifer 
McNelly, and her family, who live in my district.
  Mr. Boucher moved to Fairbanks, Alaska in 1958, after serving the 
United States Navy for 20 years. The New Hampshire native's move to 
Alaska was strongly influenced by a suggestion from a young Senator by 
the name of John F. Kennedy, for whom Mr. Boucher had campaigned. The 
future President told Mr. Boucher, ``There is great potential in the 
northern territory.''
  Just eight years after he arrived in Fairbanks, Mr. Boucher was 
elected mayor and held the position for four years. During his term, he 
guided the city through one of its greatest natural disasters, the 
flood of 1967. After his term as mayor, Mr. Boucher served as Alaska's 
lieutenant governor from 1970 to 1974 under Gov. Bill Egan. He also 
served as a representative in Alaska's state house from 1985 to 1990.
  While his passion for politics will never be questioned, his legacy 
is likely to be the baseball team he founded in 1959, the Alaska 
Goldpanners of the Alaska Baseball League. The Goldpanners are well-
known for carrying more than 200 future major league players on its 
rosters through the years.
  Mr. Boucher also was a staunch supporter of telecommunications and 
led a campaign to increase Internet access in remote villages.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the memory 
of this great American and extending our sympathies to his family and 
the people of Alaska.

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