[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 59 (Wednesday, May 4, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S2679]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING SALLY BROWN

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, it is with great sadness that I rise 
today to pay tribute and bid a fond farewell to a remarkable 
philanthropist, a proud Louisvillian, a great-grandmother of 29, and a 
dear friend. Sadly, Sara Shallenberger Brown--known by her friends as 
``Sally''--passed away this April 30 in Louisville, just after 
celebrating her 100th birthday on April 14.
  Sally was more than just a leading citizen of Louisville and of 
Kentucky--she was a driving force of nature. Through her energy, 
spirit, and great generosity, she made our city and our Commonwealth 
better places to live.
  Sally led a life that would not seem out of place in an epic movie or 
novel. Born in Valdez, AK, in 1911, her father was a brigadier general 
who fought in France during World War I and served with generals 
Pershing and Patton. In 1931, Sally visited a friend from college in 
Louisville, and here she met her future husband, W.L. Lyons Brown. When 
Lyons soon after wrote Sally's parents to tell them he was naming a 
race horse ``Sally Shall,'' they knew it had been love at first sight.
  The couple made their home in Louisville, where he was the president 
and chairman of Brown-Forman Corp., a Louisville-based company for over 
140 years and one of the largest American-owned spirits and wine 
companies. Sally became a generous benefactor to Louisville 
institutions such as the Speed Museum, Locust Grove, the Actors Theatre 
of Louisville and Waterfront Park.
  She was instrumental in preserving Locust Grove, the final home of 
Louisville founder George Rogers Clark. Where the home had once been 
abandoned and in ill repair, today it is a museum and National Historic 
Landmark.
  Sally cared deeply and throughout her long life for conservation and 
preservation. She founded a conservation program to preserve the 
natural beauty of the Kentucky River. She advocated for the 
preservation of federal national wildlife refuges, and was present at 
the bill signing by President Jimmy Carter that saw the culmination of 
her efforts. She was a delegate to U.N. conferences, and traveled 
internationally to promote wildlife conservation.
  But most of all, Sally will be remembered for her enjoyment of life. 
She loved to be outdoors, working on her farm. Even in her later years 
you could often see her riding around on top of her tractor. She was an 
artist, designer, and breeder of cattle, thoroughbreds and Cavalier 
King Charles spaniels.
  Sally inspired her family, friends and all who knew her as she forged 
ahead with her many philanthropic and intellectual interests, all while 
setting the example as the matriarch of the Brown family since her 
husband's passing in 1973. Together they had four children, 12 
grandchildren, and 29 great-grandchildren, and I want to express my 
condolences to them and other family members at this great woman's 
passing.
  Mr. President, the Louisville Courier-Journal recently published an 
editorial celebrating the life of Sally Brown. I ask unanimous consent 
that the full article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the article was printed as follows:

           [From the Louisville Courier-Journal, May 2, 2011]

                     Sally Brown: A Force of Nature

       Five years ago, when Kentucky Educational Television 
     produced a documentary about her life, Sara Shallenberger 
     Brown was called ``a force of nature.''
       For most of the century through which she lived, she was 
     precisely that. And with her death on Saturday, the 
     environmental movement and the community have lost a 
     remarkable leader.
       The daughter of an Army general who fought alongside George 
     Patton in World War II, Mrs. Brown witnessed important events 
     in history at close range. Born in Valdez, Alaska, in 1911, 
     decades later she would become a leader in the drive to save 
     the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and stood 
     beside President Jimmy Carter when he signed the act 
     protecting it in 1980.
       Widowed for almost 40 years from distillery executive W.L. 
     Lyons Brown, Sr., she rejected a comfortable, quiet life and 
     became an advocate for all sorts of causes related to the 
     environment. She traveled to Frankfort to testify about the 
     perils of strip mining and always came armed with a battery 
     of facts, which she eloquently expressed in precise terms.
       She often said that to succeed as an advocate on political 
     issues a woman needs to ``act like a lady, look like a girl, 
     think like a man, and work like a dog.''
       Besides her crusades, Sally Brown enjoyed life. She loved 
     to ride, shoot and take care of her farm. She was as much at 
     home on her tractor as she was in the corridors of power. She 
     took pleasure in the accomplishments of her children and 
     grandchildren and always challenged those she knew to push 
     harder.
       She lived well on a grand stage, and with her departure, 
     our city has lost one of its visionary leaders.

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