[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 24, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S498-S500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REMEMBERING TIM O'CONNOR
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment to remember a
remarkable Vermonter, Tim O'Connor, who passed away last week.
For those of us who knew him, Tim was unforgettable. He had a
terrific sense of humor, especially when it involved the Irish.
Marcelle and I have been friends with Tim and his wife, Martha, since I
was a young lawyer starting my practice. We fondly remember meals at
their home and how they cared for us and our children as I was first
running for Senate.
Tim loved Vermont and was committed to making a difference, both in
Brattleboro and statewide. He set an example for the importance of
public service, serving in positions as humble as town moderator, to
those as important as speaker of the Vermont State House. He served as
a Democrat in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1969 to 1981.
Throughout his career, Tim embodied bipartisanship above all else,
reaching across the aisle to put Vermonters first. In what surely
sounds like a fairytale in this hyperpartisan era, when Tim served as
speaker of the house, Republicans controlled the chamber.
The only thing that Tim loved more than our State was his family.
Marcelle and I have them in our hearts, and our prayers go out to
Martha, Kerry, Kate, and Kevin. I called Martha to tell her how I will
miss him, but that I will look, every day, at the walking stick Tim
brought me from Ireland.
I ask unanimous consent that Bob Audette's article in the Brattleboro
Reformer be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[[Page S499]]
[From the Brattleboro Reformer, Jan. 17, 2018]
Vermont Mourns the Death of ``A Gentle Soul''
(By Bob Audette)
Brattleboro, VT.--By all accounts, Timothy J. O'Connor Jr.
was kind, fair, amicable, no-nonsense, intelligent and witty.
The list of adjectives does not end there, but suffice it
to say, Brattleboro, Windham County and Vermont are all the
better because of O'Connor, who died Tuesday afternoon at the
age of 81 at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon,
N.H.
Perhaps the most succinct description came from O'Connor
himself in a 2010 interview with the Reformer, describing his
three-term tenure as Speaker of the House in Montpelier: ``It
was a job where you were like the traffic cop at the downtown
Main Street circle, trying to get five lanes of cars to move
and go with some order, trying to get people to basically
compromise on certain positions in order to get legislation
passed.''
That interview was conducted after the House of
Representatives presented a resolution honoring O'Connor.
``It is a way to honor Tim's work in the past and to thank
him for his continued work in our community, where he is
valued for his expertise, sharp wit and humor,'' said former
legislator Sarah Edwards at the time the resolution was
sponsored.
a role model and a mentor
O'Connor, who was born in Brattleboro on Dec. 13, 1936,
served as a Democrat in the Vermont House of Representatives
from 1969 to 1981. He was chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee from 1973 to 1975 and served as Speaker of the
House from 1975 to 1981. In 1980, he launched an unsuccessful
bid for the governor's office.
Before his career as a politician, O'Connor graduated from
St. Michael High School in Brattleboro in 1954 and then the
College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. After he
graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in
Washington, D.C., in 1961, he attended President John F.
Kennedy's inauguration. He married Martha Elizabeth Hannum of
Putney on July 8, 1961, and in 2017 they celebrated their
56th wedding anniversary.
He began his legal career in the law offices of Edward A.
John, at the age of 25. O'Connor practiced law until his 2011
retirement, though he served as Town Meeting Moderator
through 2012.
``He's been a role model and mentor for all of us, and the
profession is going to be less for his leaving,'' Theodore
Kramer, of Kramer Law Offices in Brattleboro, told the
Reformer in 2011. ``Timmy really is one of a kind. He's an
exceptional attorney and just a spectacular, quality guy,
very reliable and professional.''
``Tim was like a father to me and very much like my own
father,'' Brattleboro attorney Jeffrey G. Morse told the
Reformer on Wednesday. Morse learned from O'Connor when
starting his own law career. ``We have lost a truly great
man.''
impeccable loyalty and integrity
``We need more Timmy O'Connors today more than ever,'' said
Peter Shumlin, who served as governor of Vermont for three
terms. ``He couldn't care less who you were, what the color
of your skin was, your religious beliefs or your sexual
orientation. All he cared about was the quality of your
character. And you could trust him to stand behind you once
you became friends.''
Shumlin noted that when O'Connor was elected Speaker of the
House, the Legislature was dominated by Republicans. If that
wasn't remarkable enough, O'Connor served three terms as
Speaker. ``What made Timmy such an unshakable friend and fine
servant to Vermont was that everybody knew his loyalty and
integrity were impeccable,'' said Shumlin. ``Because of that,
Republicans, Democrats, Independents and everybody else
trusted him with their own future.''
``Tim pulled off an impossible upset getting elected
Speaker in a minority house,'' former legislator Michael
Obuchowski told the Reformer in 2010. ``He had the ability to
convince people, and how he convinced them was with his Irish
kindness and fairness.''
``In his years leading the Vermont House, his unrivaled
ability to build consensus and find common ground earned him
genuine respect and support from all sides of the aisle,''
stated current Speaker of the Vermont House of
Representatives, Mitzi Johnson, in an email to the media.
``Just getting elected Speaker is an amazing feat, but to
be elected by both parties, as a member of the minority
party, and for more than one session, is unheard of,'' said
Mike Mrowicki, who represents Putney, Dummerston and
Westminster in the Vermont House. ``He was an amazing public
servant and a coalition builder.''
But, noted Mrowicki, O'Connor's interest in people went
beyond consensus building. ``Tim was always eager to hear how
you were doing and wanted to know if he could help in any
way.''
a listener, not a talker
U.S. Rep. Peter Welch told the Reformer that O'Connor and
John Carnahan were the first two people he met when he moved
to Vermont in 1974 to pursue a legal career. Being elected
the Speaker of the House while a member of the minority party
was a result of O'Connor's personality, his decency and his
civility, said Welch. ``He embodied an ethic in Vermont that
you work together with people of opposing parties to get
things done.''
Welch said that during his career in politics he has tried
to emulate O'Connor and Bob Gannett, who represented
Brattleboro and Windham County in the Vermont State House for
more than 25 years.
``They inspired me to focus on the issues, find common
ground, not to get personal and be open and generous with
your colleagues,'' said Welch. ``It was effortless with Tim.
He is truly one of the giants of Vermont politics.''
What also made him unique among politicians, said Welch,
was that O'Connor was a listener and not a talker. ``Unless
you got him on the topic of Ireland, and then you couldn't
get him to shut up.''
``Tim had such a great sense of humor, especially when it
involved the Irish,'' said U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy. ``I will
miss him but I'll look, every day, at the walking stick he
brought me from Ireland.''
a proud Irishman
O'Connor was a member of what Fran Lynggaard Hansen
described in her book, ``Brattleboro: Historically
Speaking,'' as the Irish on Elliot Street.
According to Hansen's retelling, O'Connor's grandparents,
Timothy Patrick O'Connor and his wife, Hannah Daly O'Connor,
came independently from County Kerry in Ireland. They met in
Norwich, Conn., later moving to Bellows Falls where relatives
found them jobs in a local paper mill. Eventually, the couple
moved to Putney, where they raised two boys and two girls.
Later, the family moved to Brattleboro. O'Connor's
grandfather died in an industrial accident in 1915, according
to the story he told to Hansen, and his grandmother later
died of tuberculosis. ``Richard and Hanna Hasey took my
father in and raised him as their own since he was the
youngest and they didn't want him to go to an orphanage,''
O'Connor told Hansen. The senior Timothy O'Connor went to the
Bentley School of accounting and finance in Boston and worked
for Barrows Coal Company for 48 years, according to
``Brattleboro: Historically Speaking.''
``Tim was a wealth of knowledge about our town and its
characters past and present,'' wrote Hansen on the Reformer's
Facebook page. ``More than that, he was a gentle soul; a kind
man who quietly helped so many people. The weight of his life
will be felt in Brattleboro for a very long time.''
A MAN IN SERVICE TO HIS COMMUNITY
``Tim O'Connor understood, and in many ways embodied, what
it meant to serve his community and his state,'' said U.S.
Sen. Bernie Sanders. ``Moreover, in this era of increasing
political divisiveness, Tim serves as a model for bringing
people together.''
As Town Meeting Moderator for Brattleboro for more than two
decades, his reputation for his enthusiastic use of his gavel
to rein in the meanderings of Town Meeting Representatives
frustrated some people, but always brought a chuckle to many
more.
``There were many memorable Town Meetings that Tim
moderated,'' wrote Fred Noyes, who recorded a number of
Representative Town Meetings for BCTV. ``I would sometimes
say that he was the grandpa of our town.''
``I've seen my share of Town Meeting moderators over the
years, in Brattleboro and beyond,'' wrote Mary H. White, of
Brattleboro. ``Tim was the best, by far.''
``Tim O'Connor was a kind, caring, funny, wise, and
generous person who gave decades of tireless public service
to Brattleboro and all of Vermont,'' said Brattleboro Town
Manager Peter Elwell. ``We will miss him terribly, but will
always be grateful for who he was and how he lived.''
Becca Balint, the current president of the Vermont Senate,
said O'Connor was very supportive of her in pursuing a career
in politics. ``I greatly respected his advice and perspective
on working in the Legislature, and I'm so grateful that he
saw and nurtured my leadership qualities. Tim O'Connor is
known in the State House as a man who cherished and modeled
civility and collegiality. He brought his heart to his work,
and in doing so he positively impacted so many legislators
and constituents.''
``Speaker O'Connor had the reputation of a true public
servant--a reputation he earned through his unique ability to
achieve consensus and compromise,'' said Gov. Phil Scott.
``His years of leadership have made a lasting mark, and his
positive impact on Vermont will not soon be forgotten.''
FOREVER LOYAL
Shumlin said when he volunteered to work for Tom Salmon's
campaign for governor in the early 1970s, ``Timmy took me
under his wing, he tutored me, taught me, cared for me and
kept me out of trouble. I was forever loyal to him after
that.''
If more politicians were like O'Connor, said Shumlin, ``We
wouldn't be in the mess we are in now.''
During a recent visit to O'Connor, Shumlin said his mentor
was incredulous over the adversarial atmosphere in
Washington, D.C.
``He said, `I never thought I would live to see the day
when division and name-calling would come from the President
of the United States of America. It's just so
discouraging.'''
Such a comment from O'Connor was very rare, said Shumlin.
``Tim was a person who rarely spoke ill of anybody. He had a
heart of gold and would fight for folks without a voice.
That, combined with his impeccable integrity, made him one of
the great leaders of our time.''
[[Page S500]]
Jim Douglas, who preceded Shumlin as governor, agreed.
``At a time when rancor has permeated our political process
and collegiality seems to have disappeared from the public
square, Tim O'Connor stands as a glorious example of what a
public servant should be,'' said Douglas. ``We need more like
him today.''
Douglas, a Republican who served as House Majority Leader,
also recalled his time working with O'Connor, whom he
described as ``a tremendous leader.''
Like others who served with O'Connor, Douglas said he was
fair and impartial and that he cared about each legislator,
regardless of party affiliation, and displayed a genuine
nonpartisanship that earned the respect of all of his
colleagues.
``I had the temerity to challenge his re-election as
Speaker in 1979,'' said Douglas, who would later serve three
terms as Vermont's governor. ``He defeated me handily, but
there were no hard feelings: he promptly re-appointed me to
chair a committee.''
James Valente, of Costello, Valente & Gentry in
Brattleboro, said everyone should try ``to be a little more
like Tim in our daily lives. He could teach without
lecturing, argue without fighting, and make you laugh without
teasing,''
A funeral Mass is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. at St.
Michael Catholic Church in Brattleboro, with arrangements
organized by Atamaniuk Funeral Home.
The family requests no flowers. Contributions may be made
to the St. Brigid's Kitchen renovation fund in care of St.
Michael Catholic Church, 47 Walnut St., Brattleboro, VT
05301.
Survivors include his wife; a son, Kevin O'Connor of
Brattleboro; two daughters, Kate O'Connor of Brattleboro and
Kerry (Robert) Amidon of Vernon; three grandchildren, Daniel,
David and Jacob Amidon of Vernon; and a brother, W. Brian
O'Connor of Amherst, Mass.
``Tim lived his life with a commitment to making a
difference, and he did--in his community and in our state,''
said Leahy. ``He set an example for the importance of public
service, from serving as Town Moderator, to Speaker of the
House. Tim did so in the Vermont tradition of bipartisan
leadership and putting people first. Tim's ability and
efforts to reach across the aisle and to lead in ways that
fostered bipartisan cooperation will long be remembered and
are an example to all.''
____________________