[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 165 (Tuesday, November 1, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S6994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         VICTOR F. STEWART, JR.

  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. President, I rise on a more somber note. A 
longtime friend of mine, Victor F. Stewart, Jr., from O'Leary, OH, died 
this week at the age of 85. He was a counselor to me, he was a teacher, 
and he was a friend. He was someone who mentored me and so many other 
people in our county and our State. He dedicated his life to his 
community and to his country. He leaves behind 10 children and family 
and friends. He leaves public servants behind him whom he counseled 
about life, politics, and public service.
  Vic was a child of the Great Depression. He was born in the 1920s. He 
was a child of the New Deal. He believed in loyalty and frugality. He 
believed in a citizen's responsibility to vote and to be a citizen.
  As I said, he was the father of 10--6 daughters and 4 sons. His wife 
Helen survives him, and he was married to her for 62 years. I remember 
going to Vic and Helen's 50th wedding anniversary and the number of 
children and grandchildren and friends in the community, and the love 
people felt and extended to both him and Helen was a sight to see.
  Vic was a city councilman. He was mayor of O'Leary. He served in the 
U.S. Army in World War II. He was always a team player. He was a 
Catholic Youth League basketball coach, a Little League coach, a high 
school third baseman, and, again, a mentor to young people in politics, 
baseball, sporting activities, and especially to his children.
  He was a Democratic Party chair in Lorain County for many years. He 
walked and met with President Kennedy, President Johnson, and President 
Carter when they were in Lorain County. He credits President Johnson 
with so much of what we all should credit our government for doing: the 
Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, the passage of Medicare, the 
antipoverty initiatives of the Johnson Great Society program.
  When I think about what our government can do in partnership with the 
private sector, that is what brought us Medicare, that is what brought 
us safe drinking water, that is what brought us civil rights, and that 
is what brought us Head Start, many of them passing in the mid-1960s, 
passage of legislation from which our country still benefits.
  Many of the young people sitting in front of us today will benefit 
from the Pell grants that came out of the Higher Education Act. Senator 
Whitehouse spoke to a group of us today about a forum he did at the 
University of Rhode Island and what those Pell grants mean to some of 
the professors there who were able to go to college because of the Pell 
grants, some of the young students there who can afford college because 
of the Pell grants, and some older people who went back to school 
because of these Pell grants and got an opportunity to further their 
education as middle-aged parents. Vic Stewart was part of all that.
  Vic Stewart believed that the role of government in our communities 
could make a difference in people's lives, especially working families. 
So while he met with President Carter and President Kennedy and 
President Johnson, his heart was always in the community. He cared most 
about working families, poor kids who didn't have the opportunities of 
some more privileged people in O'Leary or Lorain or anywhere else in 
our county. That is what I admired about Vic.
  I was so appreciative of the wisdom he would impart to me when we 
would get together several times a year at breakfast or lunch and just 
talk about what I was doing and what he was doing, and he was always so 
helpful that way. He offered his no-nonsense advice with a touch of 
humor and compassion and a healthy dose of common sense.
  He understood the value of a hard day's work. He lived his life 
guided by that devotion to God. He was a devout Roman Catholic. To 
family--he was a terrific father and husband to Helen. Friends--he 
counted so many of us as people who were close to him and his love of 
country. We will never forget his warmth and his wit and his wisdom.
  He always looked to the whole community, not just the privileged. He 
was sickened by this power of Wall Street and this huge executive 
compensation, these huge salaries and bonuses that too many in our 
society on Wall Street and other places have taken.
  His heart was always with the middle class, working families. He 
taught integrity, especially to young people. That is why I owe Vic 
Stewart so much. We have lost a true friend, we have lost a teacher, 
and we have lost a mentor who made a difference in the lives of so many 
of us. We mourn for Vic Stewart, Jr. We think of Helen. We think of the 
sons and daughters whom Vic and Helen have taught so well and raised so 
well over the last five-plus decades.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Bennet). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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