[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 172 (Thursday, December 1, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S6659]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING ERIC DALE ELLSWORTH

  Mr. LEE. Mr. President, on Friday, November 18, 2016, Eric Ellsworth 
of Brigham City, UT, began his day like virtually every other day of 
his adult life. He put on his uniform and drove to work fully aware 
that it could be his last day on Earth. Eric was a State trooper with 
the Utah Highway Patrol, and for 7 years this is how he began each day: 
by summoning enough courage to last most men a lifetime.
  Why did he do it?
  I never had the privilege of meeting Eric. But over the past several 
days I have read a great deal about him, and based on the comments of 
his family, friends, and colleagues, I suspect the answer is that Eric 
wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
  Like all law enforcement officers, the life of a trooper is a life of 
service to one's community and one's fellow man--the vulnerable, the 
needy, and the insecure. It is also a life of sacrifice. And on 
November 18, 2016--that Friday that began like all the others--Trooper 
Ellsworth made the ultimate sacrifice.
  While directing traffic to avoid a roadway hazard along a rural 
stretch of State Route 13 near Garland in Box Elder County, Trooper 
Ellsworth was accidentally struck by a passing vehicle. For 4 days, he 
remained in critical condition at Intermountain Medical Center, defying 
the odds and fighting to live another day in that uniform. But on 
November 22, 2016, Eric succumbed to the injuries sustained in the 
crash and passed from this life into the next. He died honorably, doing 
what he loved--and lived--to do: helping others and serving his 
community.
  Indeed, if you look at the trajectory of Eric's life, you are left 
with the distinct impression that the man was destined, from the very 
start, to be a highway patrol trooper.
  He was the seventh of nine children--and the eldest brother--which 
must have taught him at an early age what it means to live with duties 
and obligations toward others. And his hero--his father, Ronald 
Ellsworth, who was also a highway trooper--showed him what courage as a 
daily discipline looks like.
  Like most sons who revere their dads, Eric grew up wanting to follow 
in his father's footsteps. And so he served.
  He served his community, as an Eagle Scout and an active member of 
his church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served 
his family, as a loving husband to his wife and high-school sweetheart, 
Janica, and a nurturing father to their three sons, Bennett, Ian, and 
Oliver. He served his fellow citizens and countrymen as a highway 
trooper who kept watch over the roads in northern Utah. And most 
importantly to Eric, he served his Heavenly Father, as a missionary in 
Winnipeg, Canada, and as a faithful witness of Jesus Christ.
  At 31 years of age, Trooper Ellsworth's life was cut tragically 
short. But in those 31 years, he did more to help his fellow man than 
most of us can hope to accomplish in a lifetime. He lived a full and 
bighearted life, always ready to answer the call of service and 
dedicated to making the world not just safer but better for everyone.
  This is Eric Ellsworth's legacy, his gift to the world, and his sons' 
greatest inheritance: the enduring example of a life well lived.
  May he rest in peace, and may God bless his family and the community 
he served--it will never be the same without him.
  Thank you.

                          ____________________