[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 48 (Thursday, March 25, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2112-S2113]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING THOMAS F. STROOCK

 Mr. ENZI. Madam President, Diana and I, along with so many of 
our neighbors, family and friends from every corner of Wyoming were 
very sorry to learn of the passing of Thomas Stroock. Tom was one of 
Wyoming's most remarkable citizens, a rugged individualist who wore 
many hats in life and traveled many roads--all of which always brought 
him back to the State he loved and called home--Wyoming.
  God puts us where He wants and needs us to be and how what we do--and 
what we fail to do--can have a great impact on the world around us and 
make the lives of all those we meet very different than they might 
otherwise have been. That is the kind of lesson you could draw from the 
life of Thomas Stroock. Born in New York City, Tom quickly showed the 
kind of character and values that would guide him throughout his many 
chosen careers. He was an excellent student, and

[[Page S2113]]

when the opportunity presented itself, he enrolled at Yale University, 
and then enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps so he could serve his 
country at a time when tensions were running high around the world.
  After he completed his service in the Corps and graduated from Yale, 
he made what he would always say was the most important and the 
smartest move of his life when he married Marta. Marta was to be a 
strong and powerful influence as she helped to give his life balance 
and direction. Thus began a marriage that was to last for 60 years.
  Now that Tom had found the love of his life, it was time for Tom and 
Marta to start making plans for their lives together. A business 
opportunity had brought them to Casper, WY, but they had no plans to 
stay. Fortunately, the beauty of the surrounding area, and the spirit 
and hospitality of the people they met soon changed their minds. So 
much so that when Tom's employer wanted to transfer him from Casper he 
decided instead to try his hand at running his own firm. That is how 
the Stroock Leasing Corporation came to be born.
  Tom, to no one's surprise, soon proved to have an excellent mind for 
business. In just a few years, Tom had founded other business entities 
and he was making even greater strides on the path to success.
  For many people that would have been enough. They would have been 
content to just sit back and enjoy all that life had already brought 
their way. That is how it would have been for most people, but not for 
Tom and Marta.
  Tom's unshakeable determination to do everything he possibly could to 
improve the lives of those around him--to make his part of the world a 
better place wherever he happened to be--which had always served as his 
internal compass--now became stronger than ever. It became part of his 
personal mission statement that he worked very hard to fulfill time and 
time again, at home and abroad.
  That is why, now that his businesses were doing so well, Tom decided 
to take that philosophy to the next level. He ran for and won a seat on 
the Natrona County School Board so he could help to make the local 
schools more effective and efficient. Tom knew from his own life the 
benefits that a good education can provide and he wanted all of our 
state's young people to have that same chance.
  Then, after serving on the school board, he was elected to represent 
Natrona County in the Wyoming State Senate--a post to which he was 
reelected several times. In both positions Tom showed that he was a 
master strategist. In the State legislature, no one ever paid closer 
attention to Wyoming's resources and our stream of revenue than Tom 
did. He watched every penny--how each one was earned and how each one 
was spent. Wyoming was then placed on better and more sound financial 
footing because of what he did.
  Throughout his life Tom was profoundly influenced by his years at 
Yale. It was there that he met George H.W. Bush and the two soon became 
good friends. He must have been impressed with Tom because, when he was 
elected President and the opportunity presented itself, he named Tom 
Stroock to serve as our Ambassador to Guatemala.
  Tom preferred Guatemala to the other available posts because it was 
in the midst of a great civil war and of all the nations in the area, 
Tom felt that he could do the most good there.
  At the conclusion of his service in Guatemala, Tom and Marta headed 
right back home to Wyoming. To no one's surprise, Tom hit the ground 
running and was once again involved in a wide variety of issues that 
ranged from the status of our energy industry to the future of the 
University of Wyoming. He even wrote some guest columns for the Star-
Tribune. Never one to mince words or water down his ideas and views, 
his columns often raised eyebrows--and the attention of people with 
other points of view!
  During these years, he also found the time to start and fund the 
Stroock Forum on Wyoming Lands and People. The Forum, which was held 
every year, brought an interesting speaker to Wyoming to share their 
views on many different issues.
  As we look back in the years to come, we will always remember Tom as 
one of our state's strongest leaders. He led the best way--by example--
and by so doing encouraged others to follow his lead and do their best 
at whatever they felt called to do in life.
  Tom's service can best be summed up by the words Mike Leon of 
Sheridan used when he was in the Legislature to emphasize the 
importance of maintaining the individuality of our state. Tom quoted 
them himself in one of his speeches--``We don't want to make Wyoming 
like every place else, when every place else wants to be just like 
Wyoming.''
  That was Tom's No. 1 goal in life--to make things better in Wyoming 
or wherever he happened to find himself, but, as he did, to ensure that 
each place maintained its own style and character so that it would 
never become a place that was just like every other.
  In their travels, and throughout their lives, Tom and Marta have made 
everywhere they have been a better place for their having passed by. 
Together they were a remarkable team and they produced tremendous 
results and touched more lives than we will ever know.
  Diana and I join with all those who knew and loved Tom in expressing 
our great sympathy for the loss we all share. We will keep all of Tom's 
family, his many friends and all those who were a part of his extended 
family in our prayers. He has gifted our state and our people with a 
legacy of which we can all be very proud. He will be greatly missed and 
he will never be forgotten.

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