[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 15, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E233-E234]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    IN MEMORY OF KATHY RADKE AND HER CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR COMMUNITY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 15, 2011

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, along with my wife 
Cynthia, my sons George and Stephen, I rise today to join with the 
citizens of my hometown, Martinez, California, to mourn the death of 
our friend and neighbor Kathy Radke.
  Kathy was a friend in the best sense of the word, and she was a 
neighbor in the largest sense of the word: she worried about us, 
inquired after us, and supported us as individuals and as families.
  Kathy, along with her husband Ted, brought a vision of community that 
would be supportive of children, families, and our elderly. Hers was a 
vision that included environmentally sound policies to make our city 
safer and our community a more enjoyable place to live.
  Time and again she was successful in realizing this vision, as she 
moved through Martinez as a parent, as an elected official, as a 
volunteer, and as an organizer.
  We were all shocked and saddened to learn of her serious illness last 
year and her passing last week. It's difficult to think of our town 
without Kathy's caring, her vision, and her drive.
  Now along with Ted and her sons HT and Dylan, we will all have to 
work harder to maintain and grow the many gifts she left for us. We all 
are going to miss her and the strength of her spirit.
  I know that my colleagues will join me in celebrating the life of 
Kathy Radke, and expressing our condolences to her family and her many 
friends. I want to draw my colleagues' attention to an article in the 
Martinez News-Gazette about Kathy and her great legacy, and I ask 
unanimous consent that the full article be printed in the Record.

            [From the Martinez News-Gazette, Feb. 10, 2011]

Kathy Radke: Environmental Champion, Civic Leader, Cherished Friend to 
                                  Many

                            (By Greta Mart)

       The woman largely responsible for protecting Mt. Wanda from 
     development, conserving the Franklin Hills as open space and 
     galvanizing community support for Alhambra Creek died this 
     week: Kathy Radke passed away on Monday from pancreatic 
     cancer. She was 71.
       During her two terms on the Martinez City Council, Radke 
     focused on water quality issues and worked to bring cleaner 
     water to Martinez residents. Later, the geriatric peer-
     counseling program she created became a model for others 
     around the state. Another late career change saw her becoming 
     licensed as a conservator, managing financial and health 
     matters for elderly patients.
       On Wednesday, her son Dylan Radke, currently the chair of 
     the Parks, Recreation, Marina and Cultural Commission, spoke 
     about his mother's life and touched on the many roles Kathy 
     played in the civic life of Martinez.
       Born in December of 1939 and raised in Chicago, Kathy was 
     the middle of three sisters. Her father Otto ran a family 
     beer distributing business, said Dylan, and she attended the 
     Chicago Commercial High School, graduating at age 16.
       For a few years Radke worked for the American Medical 
     Association in Chicago and then New York City as an executive 
     secretary until she volunteered for the newly-established 
     Peace Corps.
       The Peace Corps took her to rural Guatemala, where she 
     taught nutrition and trade skills. When her stint was up, she 
     moved to San Francisco and enrolled at San Francisco State to 
     earn a B.A.
       There she met Ted Radke, who was a fellow student and 
     served as a teaching assistant for one of Kathy's classes.
       The two were married and she dropped out when the pair 
     moved to Martinez and had their first child, Harold Theodore 
     III in 1969.
       Asked the reason his parents chose Martinez, Dylan said it 
     was a combination of his paternal grandparents living here 
     and his father securing a job at what was then

[[Page E234]]

     called the Abandoned and Abused Children's Center, across 
     from the County's Juvenile Hall.
       Dylan was born in 1971, at a time when Ted was mounting his 
     first political campaign. Kathy was the key staffer on Ted's 
     campaign for City Council, which he won. Ted served for one 
     term on the Martinez City Council before being elected to the 
     Board of the East Bay Regional Park District in 1977, a 
     position he still holds.
       ``During that same time, both my parents helped found the 
     Contra Costa Ecology Action,'' said Dylan. ``They were trying 
     to draw attention to environmental issues; how pollution, 
     poor air and water quality affect health. It was an 
     environmental advocacy group.''
       Ted left county social services for a teaching position at 
     Contra Costa College while Kathy worked as a secretary for 
     the Martinez Unified School District and subsequently the 
     local electrician's union.
       Ted's campaign had apparently inspired Kathy to public 
     service, as she was elected to the City Council in 1982 and 
     served for two terms. She ran for Mayor in 1984, but lost to 
     Mike Menesini.
       ``Although the office is non-partisan, my mother would not 
     be ashamed to be identified as a Democrat. She was really 
     into water quality; it was a hot issue then due to the 
     proposal of the Peripheral Canal idea. She was also dedicated 
     to maintaining Martinez's small town character,'' said Dylan. 
     ``Mom was active in trying to protect the Franklin Hills 
     [from development] and same with Mt. Wanda. She worked with 
     George Miller to get Mt. Wanda to become part of the John 
     Muir National Historic Site.''
       Former Council member Peter Langley said this week that he 
     and Kathy were very close friends when they served together 
     on the Council.
       ``We were both on the water subcommittee and what we were 
     trying to do was get better water quality for Martinez,'' 
     said Langley. ``Kathy was very much an environmentalist. One 
     of the issues was a development in the Alhambra Hills, which 
     is still before the City Council and we turned down several 
     proposals for the Franklin Hills. South of Highway 4 where 
     Alhambra Valley Road shoots off from Alhambra, there is a 
     place where there is a sort of natural entrance to the hills, 
     a canyon, and there was a guy who wanted to put a development 
     there,'' which Radke opposed.
       Langley said that one couldn't dislike Kathy Radke.
       ``She had a very sunny personality, very warm,'' he said.
       Dylan Radke said after his mother left the Council, she 
     returned to finish her Bachelor's degree at Cal State 
     Hayward. She went on to earn a Master's in Human Development 
     and started working on a second Master's in Public Health 
     when she was recruited by Contra Costa County to do geriatric 
     social work.
       When he was on the Board of Supervisors, now-Senator Mark 
     DeSaulnier proposed creating a senior peer counseling program 
     and asked Kathy Radke to head it up.
       ``The program was very successful and become a model for 
     others,'' said Dylan.
       ``She set up a fabulous peer counseling program that's been 
     copied elsewhere,'' said Radke's friend Harriett Burt.
       In the mid-90s, Radke was appointed to the John Muir Health 
     Board of Directors and ran for Board of Supervisors, but was 
     defeated by Gail Uilkema.
       After retiring from her County position a few years ago, 
     Radke started a new career by obtaining her license as a 
     fiduciary conservator.
       ``Conservators are people who manage the care for people 
     who are unable to do it, older adults who no longer have the 
     capacity to manage their financial affairs,'' said Dylan. 
     ``Conservators are court-appointed and Mom would essentially 
     make sure they are being seen by doctors and bills are being 
     paid, it enabled them to continue to live longer in a home 
     environment.''
       In the late '80s, Kathy and Ted Radke helped found the 
     Friends of the Alhambra Creek organization.
       ``There was concern over the accumulation of debris and 
     trash in the creek and with more development in [Alhambra 
     Valley], also watershed issues. [The founders] were primarily 
     trying to restore the creek to a natural flow and making sure 
     it was healthy for fish, turtles, and of course, beavers,'' 
     said Dylan Radke. ``[Kathy], along with Igor Skaredoff and 
     Jane Moore, those three would organize creek cleanups because 
     they saw the creek as vital to the downtown and [Alhambra] 
     valley ecosystem.''
       ``The first time I met [Kathy], Shirley [his wife] and I 
     went to a slide show by the Friends of Alhambra Creek. 
     Several members had hiked to the source, in Briones, and took 
     pictures. That's when we joined FAC, circa 1990,'' Skaredoff 
     said Wednesday in a telephone interview. ``We hit it off and 
     started doing things together like surveys and creek cleanup. 
     Kathy and I designed a little brochure [about the creek]. 
     Kathy also created a creek protection ordinance for the City 
     of Martinez that is still in the General Plan. It's a great 
     legacy from her; it's actually written into the General Plan 
     how to protect [the creek].''
       Turning to the more personal attributes of Radke, Skaredoff 
     described Kathy as possessing a great sense of humor.
       ``Always she could find something to laugh about, something 
     positive. Whenever you were around her you always felt 
     better, she had that way about her,'' said Skaredoff. ``She 
     was a vital force. I'm very happy I met her and our community 
     was so much better off with her in it.''
       Jane Moore also became close to Radke after joining the 
     Friends of Alhambra Creek, and later worked on Radke's 
     campaign for the County Board of Supervisors.
       ``I've been meaning to look up the definition of this word, 
     although it's usually used in a negative way, because Kathy 
     always comes to mind when I hear it: instigator. She was an 
     instigator in the best sense of the word, in the way she got 
     ideas going, got people interested in ideas, instrumental in 
     showing people how to use their best potential,'' said Moore. 
     ``I wouldn't be doing the work I'm doing without her, she 
     inspired me to get my degree. The loss of Kathy Radke is a 
     huge loss to Martinez and Contra Costa County. She was 
     pivotal in so many people's lives, programs and services. She 
     was an incredibly important person, giving and generous.''
       Another friend who had known Radke for many years, Sheila 
     Grilli, said described her death as ``such a loss.''
       ``We were political cohorts: I ran for City Council when 
     she ran for Mayor. She was fair and well liked, and a happy 
     person. We traveled together a couple of times a year to 
     Mexico and Hawaii--and she was easy to get along with, 
     energetic and open to suggestions. It's hard to imagine that 
     someone as dynamic and interesting is gone,'' said Grilli.
       Dylan said traveling the world was one of his mother's 
     passions.
       ``She couldn't do it enough, she been all over the world,'' 
     said Dylan Radke. ``She also loved to camp, especially with 
     the family, and she loved to garden.''
       Anyone who has visited the Radke home was witness to Kathy 
     Radke's passion for gardening. When he was young, Dylan said 
     his parents maintained huge planters for kitchen garden 
     crops; about 15 years ago, Kathy transformed the back yard 
     into an Asian-themed wonderland.
       Besides raising their two biological children, Kathy and 
     Ted Radke served as foster parents to three children.
       Trying to remember all of his mother's accomplishments, 
     Dylan added that Kathy was also a licensed social worker on 
     top of all her other achievements.
       ``She passed the social work exam right after I passed the 
     bar,'' to practice law, said Dylan.
       Dylan's wife Deidre Seguenza said Wednesday afternoon the 
     family had set a date for Kathy's funeral; it will be held on 
     Wednesday, Feb. 16 at St. Catherine's in Martinez.
       ``She will be greatly missed,'' said Seguenza with 
     heartbreak in her voice.

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