[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 2, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E586]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                              JOHN COBEAGA

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. DINA TITUS

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 2, 2017

  Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say goodbye and Godspeed to a 
longtime friend, John Mitchell Cobeaga. Mitch, his wife Sylvia, and 
their children have lived next door to us for some thirty years. We 
often hid the ``presents from Santa'' in our garage until Christmas 
morning when the children could be surprised by shiny new bikes. His 
law office was also next to my congressional office in downtown Las 
Vegas and I often visited with him there.
  Mitch was well respected for his advocacy work for fellow veterans. 
Mitch graduated from the U.S. Airforce Academy and was a proud member 
of the 20th Cadet Squadron, ``Tough Twenty Trolls.'' He became a Wild 
Weasel fighter pilot and flew over 100 combat missions in Vietnam. 
After his military service, he founded the Veterans Ask-a-Lawyer 
program, a free legal program to help vets in need.
  Mitch also had a reputation as a hero for the little guy in the 
courtroom where he had a commanding presence. He contributed to many of 
Nevada's largest cases, including the one involving the 1988 
perchlorate explosion at the Pacific Engineering and Production Company 
which killed two people and caused billions of dollars in damage 
throughout the Henderson area. His colleague Robert Murdock noted that 
``he had a hand in mentoring most of the lawyers in Southern Nevada at 
one point or another'' and should be honored by having a courtroom 
named for him.
  Sylvia said that Mitch will be remembered for his intelligence, sense 
of morality, and the importance he placed on family. And he never took 
himself seriously, she said. He always had time for everyone he passed 
in the courtroom, office, and around town. We will all miss his warm 
laughter, his kind words, and his sage counsel very much.

                          ____________________