[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 16, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E391]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO FORMER STATE SENATOR BILL MENTON

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 16, 2010

  Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, it is with genuine sadness that I rise to 
note the passing of former State Senator Bill Menton, of Irvington; a 
long-time public servant and beloved friend to many in South Alabama. 
He passed away on February 15, at the age of 90.
  Bill Menton was a native of Paterson, NJ, coming to Mobile, Alabama 
after having been awarded multiple sports scholarships to Spring Hill 
College. After graduation, he coached at Spring Hill College and then 
UMS Preparatory School.
  Senator Menton had a strong belief in our young people and is 
credited with helping to build the juvenile division of the Mobile 
County Sheriff's Department, where he served as a juvenile probation 
officer.
  Continuing his interest in law enforcement, Mr. Menton later served 
as police chief of Bayou La Batre and separately worked for the Mobile 
County School System as a crime prevention officer.
  He was the voice of the Mobile Bay Bears baseball team throughout the 
1940s and 1950s and a popular host of a local radio football scoreboard 
program.
  Bill Menton entered politics in 1982, winning a state senate seat 
representing Mobile County in Montgomery until 1988. In 1988, he came 
home to run in for the Mobile County Commission, a seat he won and held 
until 1992.
  In 1996, he returned to support the profession he loved--law 
enforcement--by assuming the position as executive director of the 
Alabama Fraternal Order of Police.
  Senator Menton also loved south Mobile County and he gave much of his 
life to making it a safer, better place to live. He dedicated an equal 
measure of devotion to bettering the lives of our young people, guiding 
many to learn from early mistakes in judgment and to take the path of 
responsible young adults.
  I wish to offer my condolences to his wife of 65 years, Carmen 
Santana Menton; their eight children, Grace M. (Bob) Overmeyer, William 
J. (Pat) Menton, Jr., Mary Jane Menton, Edward C. (Brenda) Menton, 
Regina F. Menton, John Samuel (Janie) Menton, Thomas P. Menton and 
Charles M. ``Chip'' Menton; six grandchildren and four great 
grandchildren. Senator Menton's many contributions to our community 
will never be forgotten.

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