[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 200 (Wednesday, December 19, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H10276-H10277]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE LIFE OF JUSTICE WILLIAM NEWSOM

  (Ms. PELOSI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I wish to talk about a very special person 
in our community who recently left us. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pray 
tribute to a gentleman of exceptional generosity, deep principles, and 
extraordinary wit: Justice William Newsom, or, as many called him, 
``Bill.''
  A dedicated public servant with a commitment to the arts and 
conservation, he leaves a lasting legacy for America. Any one of us who 
knew him considered him a cherished friend.
  Bill was a proud fourth-generation San Franciscan, who was born to a 
large Irish brood. As a commissioner of the San Francisco Superior 
Court, judge on the Placer County Superior Court, and then California 
Court of Appeals judge, he worked relentlessly to uphold liberty and 
justice for all.
  Again, Bill's charitable and civic contributions to our city and our 
State are legendary. He was endowed with great decency and humanity and 
took the golden rule literally. He considered an injustice and 
indignity to one an injustice and indignity to all.
  A passionate student of natural history and a lifelong enthusiast of 
the

[[Page H10277]]

outdoors, Bill worked relentlessly to preserve the beauty of God's 
creation. His leadership on a vast range of conservation and 
environmental organizations was vital in protecting clean air, clean 
water, and public lands for our children and grandchildren.
  Bill also understood the power of the arts to bring us together and 
dedicated decades to fostering beauty, culture, and the arts in the bay 
area and around the world.
  Again, all who were fortunate enough to call Bill a friend knew him 
as a brilliant man of letters, a tireless champion of civic causes, and 
a trusted confidante of unsurpassed empathy and generosity. But it is 
Bill's profound love of family that we will miss the most.
  Bill's favorite role was that of patriarch, or paterfamilias, of a 
big Irish brood. Family trips to Squaw Valley and Dutch Flat were his 
great joy, and he relished every opportunity to share books, stories, 
and special moments with his family, especially Irish literature.
  Mr. Speaker, I will include in the Record an obituary written about 
Bill Newsom that I think everyone should read. It is about a person so 
special that you merely have to read the story to find it believable 
that somebody could accomplish such things with dignity and grace.
  Mr. Speaker, his obituary says that Justice William Newsom was 
paterfamilias of a pioneering San Francisco family and a revered figure 
to his family, including his wonderful daughter, Hilary, whom we all 
love, and his son, Governor-elect Gavin Newsom, whom, unfortunately, he 
will not see sworn in, but he did see him elected Governor in November.
  Again, he is a fourth-generation San Franciscan, born to a large 
Irish Catholic brood in Depression-era San Francisco. His story is 
really the story of America.
  Again, throughout his life he served the community with great, great 
dignity. His civic and charitable commitments were substantial, serving 
on the Board of Regents of the University of Santa Clara. The list goes 
on in terms of education and the arts.
  Sometimes, Mr. Speaker, we lose someone whose passing makes it seem 
like an entire era has vanished, but that is not so with Bill Newsom 
because he left such a legacy for us to continue to enjoy.
  Again, he is survived by Hilary; Gavin; his beautiful grandchildren, 
whom he enjoyed so much time with in later years; and so many friends 
who revered him.
  I want our colleagues to knew this very special person made a mark on 
the lives of so many of us in the great State of California and our 
country. If you have a moment, read his obituary. It is a story of 
America, of the American Dream of a great Irish American family, a 
pioneer family in California.
  Again, when Gavin is sworn in the first week of January, we will all 
take such great pride in the love that his father had for him and his 
sister, Hilary, and know that he is looking down from Heaven on that 
blessed day for the State of California as the Newsom legacy lives on.

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