[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 19 (Thursday, February 7, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S517-S518]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING RICHARD WALTON

 Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Rhode Island is mourning the loss of one of 
our most renowned and accomplished citizens. Richard Walton was an 
activist, a teacher, a journalist, and a force for good in our State, 
in our Nation, and indeed in the world.
  It would take most of us many lifetimes to achieve as much and to 
touch as many as Richard did in his 84 years.

[[Page S518]]

Richard organized workers to win collective bargaining rights, and he 
organized communities to win social justice. He helped build houses for 
homeless Rhode Islanders, and he helped preserve Rhode Island's 
historic buildings. He volunteered at and helped lead the State's 
largest soup kitchen, and he emceed concerts for and helped lead the 
Stone Soup Folks Arts Foundation. He served in the Navy, and he 
protested against war.
  Richard worked to improve our country, promoting third-party 
politics. He was the Citizens Party candidate for Vice President in 
1984, and was a central figure in the founding of the Green Party. 
Richard worked to improve our world, documenting movements for 
independence in Africa and heading up educational and medical 
initiatives in Central America.
  Richard was known for his hospitality. Every year he welcomed 
hundreds of friends and strangers to his home on Pawtuxet Cove in 
Warwick for a combination birthday party/folk music jam. And he was 
known for his generosity. He asked his guests to donate to one of his 
favorite causes instead of bringing gifts.
  One of the many social welfare organizations that benefitted from 
Richard's passion and brilliance was the George Wiley Center, a 
grassroots antipoverty nonprofit. In 2008, the Center asked Richard to 
compose its statement of philosophy. It begins like this:

       The George Wiley Center is, in the short term, ``a voice 
     for the voiceless,'' but our enduring task is to help them 
     find their own voice, to speak out for their own legitimate 
     basic needs and not let those in power treat them as 
     powerless, for they are not powerless once they recognize 
     that their numbers count, that their voices count, that their 
     moral worth as human beings, as residents of the United 
     States, counts.

  Richard's allies would attest that this was indeed his own 
philosophy, lived out each day of his life. Richard will be missed by 
many, including his children, Cathy and Richard. But his legacy of 
justice, compassion, and empowerment will be felt by many, for years to 
come.

                          ____________________