[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 24, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S985-S986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING WILLIAM USHER

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I wish to commemorate the life and 
legacy of a distinguished Kentuckian who has sadly passed away. William 
``Bill'' Usher of Paducah died this February 14, 2016, after a short 
illness. He was 86 years old.
  Bill was the owner and manager for many years of Usher Transport, a 
family-owned and operated Kentucky business founded in the 1940s. He 
was well known in Paducah and western Kentucky as a community leader, 
and he was a friend of mine whom I saw often in my travels through 
Paducah.
  Bill gave generously of his time and resources to many organizations, 
charities, and causes. He served as both president and chairman of the 
Greater Paducah Chamber of Commerce. He served with Greater Paducah 
Industrial Development, the Paducah Rotary Club, the Kentucky Motor 
Transport Association, and National Tank Truck Carriers.
  Bill was a board member of Citizens Bank and helped found Paducah's 
first industrial development group. He was the chairman of the Barkley 
Regional Airport board of directors. He was also the chairman of the 
Board of Exhibit Management in Louisville.
  Bill understood what it means to serve from a young age. While 
studying at the University of Kentucky, he was named outstanding cadet 
of the Air Force ROTC. Upon graduation in 1952, he served as a fighter 
pilot in the U.S. Air Force and Air Force Reserves for several years, 
retiring as a major.
  While in the military, he served as an air combat and gunner 
instructor at Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, AZ, and with the 417th 
Tactical Fighter Squadron based in France and Germany flying F-100s. He 
was awarded the Commendation Medal. In the 1960s, he moved back to 
Paducah to help build the family business.
  Bill was a native of Graves County and attended the First United 
Methodist Church in Mayfield, KY.
  He leaves behind his wife Virginia ``Ginger'' Sabel Usher; two sons, 
William A. Usher, Jr., and Alan W. Usher; a stepdaughter, Karen 
Elizabeth Reed Alpers; a stepson, James Boone Reed; three grandsons, 
Ryan Lunsford Usher, William Patrick Usher, and William A. Usher III; 
three stepgrandsons, David Roscoe Reed II, William Murphy Reed, and Ely 
E. Mazmanians; a stepgranddaughter, Avary Frazier; extended family 
members Gabriel Vieira, Kathleen Overlin, Sabel Overlin, Max Overlin, 
Elise Overlin, and Stacy Overlin; and many more beloved family members 
and friends.
  The Paducah Sun recently published an article highlighting the impact 
Bill Usher had on his friends, family, and community. I ask unanimous 
consent that a copy of the article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                 [From the Paducah Sun, Feb. 15, 2016]

           Bill Usher Remembered as Benevolent Public Servant

                          (By Kaylan Thompson)

       Paducah leaders and friends remember William ``Bill'' Usher 
     as a driving force of leadership and benevolence throughout 
     the area and say his impact will be felt throughout the 
     community for years to come.
       ``He's a rare breed of community leader in Paducah,'' said 
     Bill Bartleman, McCracken County commissioner and friend of 
     Usher for nearly 40 years. ``He was the old kind of 
     leadership, the behind-the-scenes leader that we used to 
     have, the kind of people who weren't in the limelight. They 
     just did what they thought was right for the community.''
       Usher died early Sunday morning at Morningside Assisted 
     Living. He was 86.
       Bartleman, a former legislative reporter with The Sun, 
     first got to know Usher while covering community and 
     political movements in the 1970s. During that time, Usher 
     proved a helpful source and political liaison.
       ``He was a major force for our community,'' Bartleman said. 
     ``He did a lot to help the community and did it quietly. He 
     had contacts with political leaders, and he worked with them 
     to get benefits for the community. He did things that people 
     probably didn't know about and would have been hard to 
     document because he worked so humbly.''
       Usher's political and civic resume includes an array of 
     titles, including chairman of the McCracken County Democratic 
     Party, president of the Greater Paducah Chamber of Commerce, 
     president of the Paducah Rotary Club, and chairman of the 
     Barkley Regional Airport Board of Directors.
       ``He was always supportive and always encouraged good 
     government,'' Bartleman said. ``He wanted people to do the 
     right thing. He didn't use his influence to benefit himself, 
     he used it solely to benefit the community through the 
     bureaucracy of government.''
       During Bartleman's campaign for political office, he added, 
     Usher often reached out to him.
       ``He said he was supportive of me as long as I would do 
     what's right for the community and the people,'' he said. 
     ``Even in his senior years he was involved in politics and 
     wanted things done right, not to see people elected to help 
     himself, but to see people elected who would do good 
     government.''
       That inspiration, Bartleman said, is the torch Usher passed 
     on to him and others, encouraging them to lead with humility.
       ``What I learned from him is to just do the right thing and 
     don't seek publicity,'' Bartleman said. ``In the long run 
     you'll be rewarded, at least in knowing you benefited the 
     community. Your involvement in anything should be to do 
     what's right and not seek self-gratification.''
       Usher, a Mayfield native, was a graduate of Mayfield High 
     School and the University of Kentucky.
       He came to Paducah in 1960 following eight years of service 
     in the U.S. Air Force, then taking on the family business, 
     Usher Transportation Co., as president.
       In recent years, he strongly supported several charitable 
     organizations and the Paducah Police Department.
       While most of his work remained anonymous, his chief 
     involvement with the department was with Christmas Cops, a 
     program

[[Page S986]]

     engaging police with area families and youth through shopping 
     for gifts and necessities.
       ``Bill, being a huge supporter of the mission of the police 
     department to build relationships with the community and the 
     children, has been instrumental in affecting many, many lives 
     in this community positively by either financial support or 
     being there to support our efforts,'' said Paducah Police 
     Chief Brandon Barnhill, a friend of his for many years.
       Usher's support of the department began when he initiated 
     an annual fundraiser in support of the program in the 1990s. 
     His efforts remained largely anonymous until the early 2000s, 
     when he became a member of the Christmas Cops board.
       ``Whether it was financial or moral, he was always there in 
     a supporting nature,'' Barnhill said. ``He was a big driving 
     force behind much of what we do during the Christmas season. 
     He was a well-grounded individual, and he stayed true to his 
     principles. He would give you the shirt off his back if 
     that's what it took, and that's putting it lightly.''
       A healthy community with thriving individuals was Usher's 
     goal, believing connections and relationships were key to 
     achieving it.
       ``He fully understood the value of mentoring and fostering 
     a positive relationship with the police and youth,'' said 
     Stacey Grimes, retired assistant chief of criminal 
     investigations with the Paducah Police Department. ``We're 
     not always arresting people or writing tickets, and he wanted 
     them to see us in a different light.''
       Grimes met Usher in 1994 at a Christmas Cops fundraiser, 
     then called Shop with a Cop.
       ``He and his wife didn't want any praise or publicity for 
     hosting the fundraiser,'' Grimes said. ``He was extremely 
     humble and was probably the most benevolent man that I've 
     ever met. He never sought praise for what he did, not even a 
     pat on the back.''
       ``He always worked everything behind the scenes. His work 
     helped ensure the program is sustainable for the future. 
     Because of what Bill set up, I think it will be there for 
     generations to come.''
       Usher's friends agree that helping others was always his 
     top priority.
       ``The hardest part of this is that we will never know how 
     many lives Bill has positively affected,'' Barnhill said. 
     ``But we do know there are many, many out there. It's just 
     the person that he was.''

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