[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 8, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E853]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          RECOGNIZING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF VINCENT ROTHWELL

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM REED

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 8, 2016

  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize the life and service 
of Vincent Rothwell, who recently passed away at the age of 91.
  Mr. Rothwell was a long-time resident of Chautauqua County, New York. 
He graduated from Mayville High School in 1941 and joined the Army Air 
Corps in 1943. He served as a turret gunner aboard B-24 Bombers in the 
European Theater during World War II. After the war, he returned 
stateside and served as a Personnel Sergeant.
  Mr. Rothwell was honorably discharged from the Army in 1946. He 
returned to New York and married the love of his life, Elizabeth 
``Betty'' Pickard, later that year. Mr. Rothwell graduated from 
Houghton College in 1952 and the Evangelical Theology Seminar of 
Naperville, Illinois, in 1955. Two years after joining the ministry, he 
reenlisted in the Army as a chaplain. He served a deployment in Vietnam 
and presided over more than 1,500 funerals at Arlington National 
Cemetery. Mr. Rothwell attained the rank of Lt. Colonel and, in 1975 
retired as Senior Chaplain after 22 years of service to his country.
  Mr. Rothwell returned to Westfield in 1984, where he continued his 
ministry as a pastor at the Westfield United Methodist Church. Even in 
retirement, Mr. Rothwell tirelessly served his local community, as a 
member of the Chautauqua County Jail Chaplaincy, a Westfield Village 
Trustee, the Westfield Village Clerk, and the Westfield Volunteer Fire 
Department Chaplain. As a pillar of his community, Mr. Rothwell was 
admired and respected by everyone who knew him.
  Vincent Rothwell dedicated his life to serving his country, his 
community, and his neighbors. I extend my sincerest condolences to his 
family and ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life and 
service of this great American

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