[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 14, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S966]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING GLADYS LLANES

  Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I want to commemorate the life of 
Gladys Llanes, who passed away last week in Miami, FL. As she was in 
life, in the end, she was surrounded by family and friends who loved 
and cared for her deeply. Gladys served as a senior constituent 
services representative in my office specializing in immigration 
issues.
  I was not the first Senator for whom Gladys worked. That honor goes 
to the senior Senator from New Jersey. Even though she had lived in 
South Florida for a number of years, Gladys remained a Jersey girl 
through and through.
  I was fortunate to have Gladys in my office, and the people of 
Florida were fortunate to have Gladys working for them because she was 
the best at what she did. I do not say that as conjecture; I know she 
was the best. I heard it from her colleagues, from the constituents she 
served, from the attorneys she assisted, and from the agency with which 
she worked daily. Gladys was so good at her job that, when the agency 
wanted to train their own staff on how to work with congressional 
offices, they brought Gladys to their training throughout the country 
to help teach agency staff. That is high praise and an acknowledgment 
of professional excellence. The stories have come rushing out as people 
have heard of her passing: families reunited who thought they would 
never see each other again, daughters able to spend the last moments of 
their parent's life with them because of a visa issued, family members 
who needed admittance to this country to donate organs to loved ones, 
children who are alive today because Gladys helped them get into this 
country to receive the lifesaving treatment they needed. Repeatedly, 
Gladys found ways to make the seemingly impossible possible. She lived 
an impactful and meaningful life and touched thousands of lives for the 
better.
  But there was so much more to Gladys than just her professional 
success. Gladys was fiercely patriotic and loved America--not the 
ideals of America or America in theory, she loved America, and she made 
it her mission to see as much of it as possible. In her 50th year, 
Gladys met her goal of seeing each of the 50 States. Just driving 
through a State or transferring in an airport did not count; she 
actually had to spend time there. She loved to visit lighthouses, 
national parks, and Major League Baseball stadiums. Thwarted constantly 
in her goal to see all the ballparks because they kept opening new 
ones, she had a ready excuse to go back to those cities again and see 
another game.
  Gladys did not just love America; she loved Americans. She could not 
visit to a town, eat a meal, fly on a plane, or stand in a line without 
making a friend. Funny and full of life, Gladys attracted friends like 
few others. She knew someone almost everywhere and stayed in touch 
constantly. When she would go back through their State, she would go 
out of her way to visit, share a meal, and stay at their homes. When 
folks from across the country came to south Florida, they wanted see 
the ocean and feel the Sun, but they also wanted to catch up with their 
friend Gladys. Everywhere that Gladys went, she took photos. Family 
photos, landscape photos, photos of friends--Gladys would tell you, if 
you did not take a photo, how would you know it happened? I cannot 
count how many photos I took with Gladys--easily dozens. We took one 
together almost every time I saw her, and I can trace how being a 
Senator has aged me just going through my photos with Gladys over the 
years. Sometimes I would take a photo with her after having taken one a 
few days before and wonder why we needed to take another one so soon. 
Nevertheless, Gladys always insisted we take one more photo. What we 
would not give to have a few more opportunities to take more photos 
with her.
  A photo captures a moment in times, moments that are fleeting and 
pass instantly, but added up, life is a series of moments and memories. 
Gladys Llanes captured those moments to live a life full of joy and 
accomplishment. She is missed by her friends and family, and we will 
remember her and all the moments she was with us.

                          ____________________