[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 51 (Tuesday, April 13, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H2475-H2476]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MOMENT OF SILENCE IN MEMORY OF FORMER REPRESENTATIVE STAN PARRIS OF
VIRGINIA
(Mr. MORAN of Virginia asked and was given permission to address the
House for 1 minute.)
Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor former
Congressman Stan Parris, who passed away on March 27. Mr. Parris
represented the Eighth District in Virginia in the House from 1973 to
1974, and then again throughout the 1980s, from 1981 to 1990.
He was a very hardworking advocate for Northern Virginia and his
constituents. He was a fighter pilot, a veteran of the Korean War. He
earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart, and an Air
Medal for his service.
He was known for giving out his home phone number, for listening to
people regardless of their views; I'm not sure his successor has given
out his home phone as often. Mr. Parris had a major impact on Northern
Virginia by supporting flood control projects and bridges. He laid the
groundwork for the Four Mile Run project. He put carpool lanes on
Interstate 395. He transferred control of the airports from the Federal
Aviation Administration to a regional airport authority. He led an
effort to move the D.C. prison from Lorton. When the National Football
League blacked out broadcasts of games that were sold out, he got the
league to change its policy.
As a member of the Banking and Finance Committee, he proved prescient
in cautioning about the looming savings and loan crisis in the 1980s.
He graduated from George Washington University Law School. He owned
several car dealerships. He was a State Delegate and was on the Fairfax
County Board of Supervisors. He is survived by his wife of 28 years,
Martha Harper Parris of Mathews, Virginia, his three children, and his
two grandchildren.
I would now like to yield to my colleague, the dean of the Virginia
delegation, Congressman Frank Wolf.
Mr. WOLF. I thank the gentleman.
Madam Speaker, this is a sad occasion as we inform the House of the
passing of a former colleague, Representative Stan Parris, who died on
March 27 at the age of 80.
Stan loved the people's House and proudly served Virginia's Eighth
District for six terms. I had the privilege of serving with Stan for 10
of those 12 years. He was a good friend. He had many legislative
accomplishments for the people in northern Virginia, in addition to the
ones my colleagues, Mr. Moran, said. I think many would agree that one
most significant accomplishment was the transfer of Dulles and National
Airports from the FAA to a regional airports authority, an effort that
consumed several years, but eventually led to two of the finest
airports in the region.
He was not only an outstanding Member of Congress, but he was a
Korean War hero. Someone said if you wanted to understand Stan Parris,
you should read the book ``The Right Stuff'' because he had the right
stuff. He was a pilot, had been shot down during the Korean War. His
airplane landed on power lines, and he was later rescued in North
Korea. He received a Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart and
the Air Medal. He was also a State legislator and a local legislator,
businessman and attorney. He recently had made his home in Mathews,
Virginia, with his wife, Martie. And so to Martie and Stan's three
children and two grandchildren, we express our deepest sympathies.
Funeral services for Stan will be held in late June, I believe June
28, with a burial at Arlington National Cemetery. He was a good Member
of Congress, and he loved this institution as much as anybody that I
ever met.
[From the Washington Post, Mar. 29, 2010]
Stanford E. Parris, 80, Dies; N. Va. Member of Congress
(By Matt Schudel)
Stanford E. Parris, 80, who served six terms in the U.S.
House of Representatives as a Republican from Northern
Virginia's Eighth District, died March 27 of heart disease at
his home in Mathews County, Va.
Mr. Parris, who was a lawyer and car dealer before entering
politics, was first elected in 1972, then returned to
Congress from 1981 to 1991. A onetime Air Force fighter
pilot, he survived several hard-fought campaigns and was
among the first Republicans to gain a foothold in modern-day
Virginia politics.
During his first term in Congress, he won the gratitude of
football fans by introducing a bill prohibiting the National
Football League from imposing television blackouts of sold-
out games. He supported efforts to improve transportation in
Northern Virginia, including carpool lanes on Interstate 395,
and helped transfer control of Dulles and National airports
from the Federal Aviation Administration to a regional
airport authority.
As ranking Republican on the House District Committee, he
was a persistent critic of the D.C. government and often
quarreled with then-Mayor Marion Barry. Mr. Parris also led
an effort to move the D.C. prison from Lorton, which was
finally accomplished after he left Congress.
Mr. Parris possessed a blunt, direct style that served him
well on the campaign trail. He had three epic electoral
battles with Democratic Rep. Herbert E. Harris II, losing in
1974 before ousting Harris from Congress in 1980. Mr. Parris
defeated Harris in a rematch in 1982, spending $700,000 in
Virginia's most expensive congressional campaign up to that
point.
``They were tough campaigns,'' recalled U.S. Rep. Frank R.
Wolf (R-Va.), who served in Congress with Mr. Parris. ``They
were almost like the Lincoln-Douglas debates.''
Describing his political approach to The Washington Post in
1989, Mr. Parris said: ``Somewhere along the line, I learned
the best thing to do was to simply stand up and say what you
mean, mean what you say, and do what you commit to.''
Stanford Elmer Parris was born Sept. 9, 1929, in Champaign,
Ill., and was a graduate of the University of Illinois.
During the Korean War, he piloted fighter jets and was once
rescued after being shot down over North Korea. He received
the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart and Air Medal.
He graduated from George Washington University law school
in 1958, settled in Fairfax County and practiced law. He
later owned car dealerships in Woodbridge and Manassas.
After serving on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors,
he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1969, as
one of nine Republicans in the body. He was Virginia's
secretary of the commonwealth in 1978.
Mr. Parris unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination
for governor in 1985 and 1989 and failed in a bid for the
Virginia state Senate in 1995. After losing his congressional
seat to James P. Moran Jr. (D) in 1990, he was administrator
of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. and was of
counsel to the law firm of Dickstein Shapiro.
[[Page H2476]]
He was also a founder of the Flying Circus Aerodrome in
Bealeton, where he took part in aerobatic demonstrations.
In recent years, Mr. Parris lived in Mathews County and
Melbourne, Fla.
His marriages to Jane McCullough Parris and Sonja Parris
ended in divorce.
Survivors include his wife of 28 years, Martha Harper
Parris of Mathews County and Melbourne; three children from
his first marriage, Michael Parris of Los Angeles, Ann Parris
of Culpeper and Susan Parris Littlewood of Mount Airy; and
two grandsons.
Mr. MORAN of Virginia. I thank the gentleman. Perhaps now we could
have a few moments of silence for both departed colleagues.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The House will observe a moment of silence
in memory of our two former colleagues from New Jersey and Virginia.
____________________