[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 79 (Thursday, May 21, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E777-E778]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         A TRIBUTE IN HONOR OF THE LIFE OF DAVID BRUCE GOLDBERG

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 21, 2015

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to David Bruce 
Goldberg, who was born in Minnesota on October 2, 1967, and died 
tragically at age 47, on May 1, 2015, in Mexico. I had the privilege of 
representing him as a constituent residing in Menlo Park, California.
   Dave graduated from the Blake School in Minneapolis and earned a BA 
degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard University. After graduating from 
college, Dave worked for Bain and Company and Capitol Records. In 1994, 
he founded Launch Media which was later acquired by Yahoo in 2001. In 
2007 he joined Benchmark Capital, and in 2009, joined SurveyMonkey, 
where he was CEO at the time of his death.
   Dave Goldberg was a successful entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and 
technology and music industry executive. He ran several online consumer 
businesses, and served as a director of many companies and 
organizations, but he was far more than the sum of his great 
professional success. Dave has been praised as warm, humble and kind, 
and described as a genius, a leader and a man of courage. He

[[Page E778]]

was a sports fan, was passionate about education and children, and was 
lovingly described as a cross between a teddy bear and a tiger.
   I've had the pleasure and privilege to work with Dave's wife, Sheryl 
Sandberg and the following are her poignant words expressed on the day 
of his funeral. They speak volumes about the goodness and greatness of 
this extraordinary man:
       ``I want to thank all of our friends and family for the 
     outpouring of love over the past few days. It has been 
     extraordinary--and each story you have shared will help keep 
     Dave alive in our hearts and memories.
       I met Dave nearly 20 years ago when I first moved to LA. He 
     became my best friend. He showed me the internet for the 
     first time, planned fun outings, took me to temple for the 
     Jewish holidays, introduced me to much cooler music than I 
     had ever heard.''
       ``We had 11 truly joyful years of the deepest love, 
     happiest marriage, and truest partnership that I could 
     imagine . . . He gave me the experience of being deeply 
     understood, truly supported and completely and utterly 
     loved--and I will carry that with me always. Most 
     importantly, he gave me the two most amazing children in the 
     world.''
       ``Dave was my rock. When I got upset, he stayed calm. When 
     I was worried, he said it would be ok. When I wasn't sure 
     what to do, he figured it out. He was completely dedicated to 
     his children in every way--and their strength these past few 
     days is the best sign I could have that Dave is still here 
     with us in spirit.''
       ``Dave and I did not get nearly enough time together. But 
     as heartbroken as I am today, I am equally grateful. Even in 
     these last few days of completely unexpected hell--the 
     darkest and saddest moments of my life--I know how lucky I 
     have been. If the day I walked down that aisle with Dave 
     someone had told me that this would happen--that he would be 
     taken from us all in just 11 years--I would still have walked 
     down that aisle. Because 11 years of being Dave Goldberg's 
     wife, and 10 years of being a parent with him is perhaps more 
     luck and more happiness than I could have ever imagined. I am 
     grateful for every minute we had.''
       ``As we put the love of my life to rest today, we buried 
     only his body. His spirit, his soul, his amazing ability to 
     give is still with us. It lives on in the stories people are 
     sharing of how he touched their lives, in the love that is 
     visible in the eyes of our family and friends, in the spirit 
     and resilience of our children. Things will never be the 
     same--but the world is better for the years my beloved 
     husband lived.''
   Mr. Speaker, I ask the entire House of Representatives to join me in 
extending our deepest condolences to Dave's wife Sheryl Sandberg, to 
their children, his mother, brother and entire family and many friends. 
As President Obama said in his message of condolence, ``His skills as 
an entrepreneur created opportunity for many, his love for his family 
was a joy to behold, and his example as a husband and father was 
something we could all learn from. We're heartbroken by him leaving us 
far too soon, but we celebrate a remarkable legacy.''
   Our community, our country and our world are stronger and better 
because of the life and work of Dave Goldberg. May this tribute and the 
thoughts and prayers of countless others be a source of comfort and 
strength to his beloved Sheryl, their children and all the family.

                          ____________________