[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 127 (Monday, July 20, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H3095-H3096]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         THANKING KAREN SHIMKUS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, you know, the clock keeps ticking, and 
before you know it, my time as a Member of Congress will end, so I need 
to start now saying thank you to some of those folks who have committed 
their lives in helping me and supporting me in my political and 
governmental career.
  In Genesis 2, we find God instituting marriage:

       It is not good for man to be alone. I will create for him a 
     helpmate. That is why a man shall leave his mother and a 
     woman leave her home.

  I have been extremely blessed to have Karen as my partner and 
helpmate for

[[Page H3096]]

33 years. We will celebrate our 33rd wedding anniversary this Saturday.
  Karen and I met at my last Active-Duty Army station in Monterey, 
California. She allowed me to drag her to my hometown of Collinsville, 
where I had a teaching job lined up. We have been there ever since.
  Karen has allowed me to run for various political offices, winning 
some races, losing some races. Whether it was my first race for the 
county board or my last one for Congress, she always supported me.
  She always answered the call when needed. It could be stuffing 
envelopes, painting signs, walking door to door, participating in 
parades, attending hostile debates, or speaking for me at events when I 
had a conflict. I never knew her once to say no. You will have to ask 
her if she enjoyed any of it, but whether she enjoyed it or not, she 
always participated gracefully.
  Our sons are now young men at 27, 25, and 20 years old. I really 
became an absentee father upon my election to Congress. You see, my two 
boys were 3 and 1 at the time. Finishing my 24th year tells you that 
their entire life has consisted of me being a Member of Congress and my 
wife, Karen, being a single parent. Our boys have turned out to be nice 
and respectful young men, and Karen gets the credit.
  Our marriage is founded on Christ and His church on Earth. Karen is a 
trained director of Christian education. She has her masters in organ 
performance and has taught music at the grade school and high school 
level. I am a former jock, Army officer, and a back patter. We 
complement each other. And, again, as it says in Genesis: the two shall 
be one flesh. We are partners. We are a team.
  The decades have flown by, and I will never be able to adequately 
thank Karen for her love and support over the years. She is ready to 
have me home more, and I am ready to be home. COVID-19 has already 
allowed us to test this theory of being home more than apart. I think 
we are going to do just fine.
  Thank you, Karen. I owe you a debt of gratitude, and so does this 
Nation for allowing and supporting my service to it.

                          ____________________