[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 160 (Thursday, October 5, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6353-S6354]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO MARY GAUTREAUX

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I wish to indulge in a bit of 
bragging. I know every one of us in this Chamber has that one or two 
staffers who are the Jacks or Janes of all trades of their operations.
  My longtime loyal friend and staffer, who has served the great State 
of Oregon for over 20 years in my office as a fellow, a field 
representative, and now deputy State director, Mary Gautreaux 
celebrates her 70th birthday on October 17. I want to recognize her 
enormous and long-lasting contributions over the past two decades in my 
office to making Oregon a better place to live and enjoy.
  Mary brings a lifetime of expertise to the natural resources issues 
that play such an essential part in Oregon's economy and quality of 
life. Not only

[[Page S6354]]

does she know these issues but she has lived these issues and passed on 
her love of them to her children, Ryder, Myria, Callie, and Lucas, as 
well as her five grandchildren.
  Before joining my office in the 1990s, Mary served in the U.S. Forest 
Service. In those days, Mary planted trees and fought fires to support 
her young family. While the work was seasonal, to start, she quickly 
made an impression on the U.S. Forest Service and became a full-time 
employee.
  Then I was lucky enough to get her as a fellow in 1994 in my DC 
office when I was still a member of the House of Representatives for 
the proud 3rd District of Oregon and still had rugged good looks and a 
full head of hair.
  She worked in my DC office for a year and had just moved back to 
Oregon when I realized my office was better for her presence, so I 
hired Mary to work as field rep in Oregon. I may not know much about a 
lot of things, but I can recognize an excellent teammate, and Mary was 
a natural fit on ``Team Wyden.''
  When I was elected to the U.S. Senate for the first time in 1996, I 
made a promise to do a townhall meeting in every county in Oregon every 
year I was privileged enough to represent the good people of Oregon in 
Washington, DC. In the last 21 years, she has been with me at almost 
every one of the 800-plus townhalls I have held each year in each of 
Oregon's 36 counties.
  At almost every one of those townhalls, I have at some junction 
pointed to Mary and said, ``Folks, give Mary a call about this issue. 
She works nights and weekends--never hesitate to call.'' It does not 
matter the issue; Mary always answers the phone. She has been going the 
extra mile with and for Oregonians in every nook and cranny of our 
State, both literally and figuratively.
  Literally, Mary has traveled with me and solo to countless meetings 
in grange halls, diners, and farmhouses all across Oregon, and there 
has never been an issue too big or too small for her to take on.
  One way to explain the praise Mary has earned is to say that 
Oregonians know Mary as a public servant always willing to listen and 
find solutions that benefit all of Oregon and Oregonians, not just the 
ones that vote for me. She lives by my promise to be the ``Senator for 
all of Oregon,'' and Oregonians know it and appreciate her for it.
  My appreciation and Oregon's appreciation for Mary goes deeper than 
that accurate and well-deserved summation.
  The deeper truth is that anybody who knows Mary knows she is an 
original and unforgettable force of nature--fierce on behalf of 
Oregonians, bold in her problem-solving, always willing to help, and 
just as ready with a smile to lighten any situation.
  She has a gigantic heart matched only by her passion for public 
service and protecting the natural treasures we Oregonians all hold 
dear.
  The bottom line is I have been very fortunate to work with her, to 
call her friend, to have her as an integral member of Team Wyden, and I 
look forward to many more years of her public service to the people of 
Oregon and her friendship to me and my family.

                          ____________________