[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 19, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E882]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING DAN AND DEE DEVLIN

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 19, 2010

  Mr. FARR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Dan and 
Dee Devlin, who through their 42 year marriage embodied the deepest 
love for each other, their family, their community, and the greater 
world around them. Earlier this year, tragically, these two wonderful 
people died within weeks of each other.
  It's not often that one meets a couple who are so completely one. I 
count it as a great honor to have known Dan and Dee Devlin and I extend 
to their family and many friends my deepest sympathies and those of the 
whole House of Representatives.
  I first met these two wonderful people in 1996 when COL Dan Devlin 
came to Monterey, Calif., to assume command of the Defense Language 
Institute, our Nation's premier foreign language training center. 
Colonel Devlin personified DLI's thoughtful, disciplined, and 
cosmopolitan commitment to our Nation's defense. At DLI, he built a 
stronger and more vibrant academic and military institution. He boosted 
student achievement by enhancing the teaching environment for DLI's 
native speaker faculty, focusing on professional growth, curriculum 
development, and performance-based merit pay. These efforts positioned 
DLI for its rapid response to the post 9/11 wave of new language 
training demands.
  Dee was born January 16, 1947, in Williston, ND, to Roman and Ardell 
Daniel. A few months later, on April 21, Dan was born to Robert and 
Marion Devlin in nearby Northwood, ND. They both graduated from Ray 
High School in 1965 and North Dakota State University in 1969. After 
dating for 6 years, the high school and college sweethearts married in 
Ray, ND on June 4, 1968.
  Upon graduation, Dan began his military career as a second lieutenant 
in the U.S. Army. His Army service included duty as an intelligence 
officer, a DLI student of Russian, commanding officer of the 6th 
Psychological Operations Battalion, Airborne, deputy commander of 4th 
Psychological Operations during the first Gulf War, and just prior to 
his DLI assignment, chief of Psychological Operations and Civil Affairs 
for the Joint Staff in the Pentagon.
  Following a distinguished 31 year military career, Colonel Devlin 
retired from the Army in 2000 and became, once again, simply Dan. He 
continued to work in the language field as a DoD civilian employee.
  Dee held numerous civil service positions as she accompanied Dan in 
his military career both at home and abroad: library technician in 
Garmisch, human resources specialist at the American Elementary/High 
School in Munich, and administrative officer at the Naval Postgraduate 
School in Monterey. Above all, Dee was the light of a family that grew 
to include Daniel Devlin, Jr. and his wife, Tara, their daughters 
Reilly and Elliott, and son, Robert Devlin and his wife, Lara.
  Madam Speaker, Dan and Dee Devlin represented the best of our Nation 
and humanity: family, faith, public service, and an appetite for life 
that made the world a better place for everyone they touched. May God 
bless them and their memory.

                          ____________________