[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 116 (Wednesday, August 1, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1381]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING JOHN BOGERT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JANICE HAHN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, August 1, 2012

  Ms. HAHN. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to honor the memory of John 
Bogert, who passed away on July 29, 2012 at the age of 63 following a 
lengthy battle with cancer.
  John Bogert was a columnist for the Daily Breeze, a South Bay local 
staple, for 28 years. In that time, he wrote some 6,500 columns. He 
worked hard, writing five or six columns weekly, and his efforts did 
not go unrecognized. By the end of his life he was known as the ``Voice 
of the South Bay.''
  He wrote about anything and everything, but some of my favorite 
columns were those he wrote about his family. These columns were 
honest--sometimes brutally so--and gave readers insight into a life 
that often seemed very familiar. He had an uncanny ability to draw 
readers into his experiences and after reading his columns, his 
followers felt that they knew him. His book signings were characterized 
by long lines and his appearance at local events drew crowds of people 
waiting to shake his hand. He even wrote one of his columns on me as he 
attempted to capture a ``Day in the Life of Janice Hahn''--it was one 
of my favorite writings on my life.
  John was born on October 7, 1948 in Utica, New York and spent much of 
his childhood in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He attended the University 
of Florida where he started his own newspaper and starred on the track 
team. After some time abroad, he moved to Southern California where he 
was hired by the Daily Breeze in 1979. He did not originally plan on 
staying long, but he became one of the Breeze's longest tenured 
journalists until his departure in June of this year.
  He once said in an interview that journalism gave him the opportunity 
to ``meet some pretty great people.'' And indeed he met with so many 
interesting figures, from presidents to nuns to an encounter that let 
him drop the line, ``Stalin's interpreter once told me . . .''
  John Bogert leaves behind three children: Caitlin, 29, Rachel, 25 and 
Ian, 18. His eldest daughter is expecting his first grandchild in 
September. The granddaughter will be named Charlotte, a name picked by 
John himself. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have known John, 
and to have considered him a close friend. His family, friends, 
colleagues and so many readers will miss him dearly. I know that I 
will.

                          ____________________