[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 113 (Thursday, July 29, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING RICHARD ``DICK'' WILSON, SR.

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 29, 2010

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to honor the 
life of Richard ``Dick'' Wilson, Sr., who recently lost his 21-month 
battle with brain cancer at the age of 78. Dick is survived by his wife 
Phyllis JoAn; two sons, Rick (and his wife Leslie), Indianapolis, 
Indiana--my long-time staffer and former District Director--Steve (and 
his wife Michelle), Overland Park, Kansas; a daughter, Patricia Geyling 
(and her husband Rolf), Santa Barbara, California; 12 grandchildren and 
four great-grandchildren.
  Study after study has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that fathers 
play an important role in teaching their children life lessons and 
preparing them to succeed in life. Although I did not know Dick Wilson, 
Sr. very well, I do know his son Rick extremely well. For a little over 
15 years Rick Wilson served the people of Indiana's Fifth Congressional 
District with grace and skill; first as director of my mobile office 
and later as my District Director. And if the measure of a father is 
the quality of the children that he raises, then based upon what I know 
about his son Rick, Dick Wilson, Sr. was undoubtedly an exceptional 
man.
  Richard ``Dick'' Wilson was born December 29, 1931, in Schenectady, 
NY. He graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in 1950 and attended 
the University of Kansas on a cross country and track scholarship. Dick 
was a member of the 1953 NCAA championship cross-country team--Kansas' 
only cross-country team to ever win a national championship--and part 
of the four-mile relay team that broke the American record that same 
year. In 2008 he was inducted into the KU Athletics Hall of Fame.
  After graduating from the University of Kansas, Dick Wilson served in 
the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserves from 1956 to 1968, achieving the 
rank of captain.
  On July 15, 1956, he married Phyllis JoAn Fink. He and his wife 
raised three children, moving from Schenectady, NY, to Palatine, IL, 
and then to Indianapolis before settling in Lawrence in 1992.
  Dick began his career in commercial underwriting in 1957; eventually 
serving with the Travelers Insurance Company for 35 years before he 
retired in 1992 in Lawrence.
  In addition to working hard all of his life and raising a family, 
Dick Wilson was also a competitive Masters runner for more than 30 
years; and was nationally ranked in the top 10 of his age group every 
year from 1985 to 2005--a remarkable 20 year streak. In fact, in 2003 
Dick was ranked No. 2 in the nation and No. 4 in the World in his age 
group.
  Twenty-one months ago though, Dick began the race for his life when 
he was diagnosed with cancer; a race he would ultimately lose. However, 
no matter the odds, Dick never gave up living life. Last year, after 
doctors removed 95 percent of a brain tumor, Dick ran in the Head for 
the Cure 5K--a race to support the Chris Anthony Tumor Research Fund at 
the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. The race honors the late 
Chris Anthony, who died at the age of 37 from a brain tumor. When 
interviewed by the Kansan--the University of Kansas' Daily newspaper--
about what running in the Chris Anthony meant to him, Dick said: 
``Maybe someday there will be a cure, and if there is, it can hopefully 
help my children and help my grandchildren.''
  Shakespeare once wrote: ``All the world's a stage, and all the men 
and women merely players. They have their exits and entrances, and one 
man in his time plays many parts. . . .'' Dick Wilson played his parts 
and played them well. May flights of angels sing him to his eternal 
rest.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in sending condolences 
and best wishes to the Wilson Family in their time of need. God bless 
you.

                          ____________________