[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 36 (Wednesday, March 13, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E288]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        COMMEMORATING THE LIFE OF JOAN MARGARET (KATHAN) ZERZAN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GREG WALDEN

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 13, 2013

  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the passing of a great 
Oregonian whose contribution to my State and our nation bears 
recognition.
  Joan Margaret (Kathan) Zerzan was born in Grants Pass, Oregon on June 
26, 1927. A child of the Great Depression, she grew up in a house up 
Evans Creek Road in Rogue River, Oregon that was for a good part of her 
youth not wired with electricity. And yet, as she was fond of saying, 
if her family was poor she didn't know it at the time.
  A descendent of pioneers and frontiersmen, throughout her life Joan 
Zerzan demonstrated the indomitable spirit of her forebears. During 
World War II she served as a civilian spotter of air traffic while 
working on her sister's ranch. A musical prodigy, she attended 
Willamette University at the age of 17 on musical scholarship, having 
been born with the unique ability to play almost any instrument 
seemingly just by looking at it.
  It was while at Willamette that Joan met the great love of her life 
and husband of 60 years, Charles Zerzan. Almost exactly 5 years ago I 
memorialized Charles Zerzan's life on this floor, and recounted his 
many accomplishments. There is no question that these would not have 
been possible without his beloved wife Joan.
  In Joan Zerzan's life she served in many roles--patron of the arts, 
poll worker on election day, volunteer at school and church. Yet for 
all her many endeavors, there was no field in which she excelled so 
much as in being a mother. Joan Zerzan gave birth to 12 children, 8 
sons and 4 daughters, and provided each one with the love and succor 
that only a mother can provide. As the Psalmist wrote, so Joan Zerzan 
truly believed, ``Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the 
fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are 
the children of one's youth.'' In not only raising fine children, but 
in teaching them her core values of faith and hard work, she richly 
contributed to the ongoing success of our nation in the irreplaceable 
way upon which all of civilization ultimately rests. She provided an 
example of the matchless power of these two values throughout her life 
through her words and her actions--beliefs she instilled not only in 
her own children but in her 32 grandchildren and 12 great-
grandchildren.
  Though we mourn the loss of Joan Zerzan, we also celebrate the life 
of a woman whose contributions to this country leave an enduring legacy 
and inspiration to others. Joan Zerzan believed nothing was impossible 
and taught her children and grandchildren that, when faced with 
uncertainty or given a choice between hope and despair, the only 
reasonable choice was hope. As recounted in the Gospel of Matthew, 
``Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into 
practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain 
came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that 
house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the 
rock.'' The woman who built her own life on solid ground, who grew up 
in a humble dwelling in southern Oregon, now retires to the mansion 
that has been promised her. On this solemn but ultimately joyful 
occasion I know this whole body will join with me in giving thanks for 
the life of Joan Zerzan.

                          ____________________