[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 97 (Wednesday, June 7, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H4658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING JACK O'NEILL

  (Mr. PANETTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember Jack O'Neill, a 
Santa Cruz resident, a cultural icon, and a surfing legend. Jack passed 
away last week at 94 years young. There has been a great amount of love 
for this man and a great amount of appreciation for what this man did.
  After serving in the U.S. Navy, he moved to Santa Cruz, where he 
loved surfing in its cold waters, so much so that he was quoted as 
saying: ``When you get screwed up, just jump in the ocean and 
everything is all right.''
  Jack's love for being in the ocean was demonstrated by being one of 
the first people to create and the first person to market the wetsuit. 
This led to him and millions of other people being able to surf at any 
time and at any temperature.
  He was a trailblazer not just in the ocean, but in life. As a father 
of seven and grandfather of six, he understood how important it was to 
preserve our ocean for our children.
  He was instrumental in designating Santa Cruz as a world surfing 
reserve, one of only four locations in the world that preserve surf 
spots and their surrounding environment.
  He created the O'Neill Sea Odyssey, an educational program on a 65-
foot-long catamaran that teaches our children how to be stewards of the 
ocean.
  Jack not only bestowed upon us the wetsuit and year-round surfing, he 
left a legacy for our children to understand that being in and around 
the ocean really can make everything all right. For that, I thank and I 
honor Jack O'Neill.

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