[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 135 (Thursday, July 30, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S4631]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO DAVE LILLEHAUG

 Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, today I rise to honor my dear 
friend, Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Dave Lillehaug, on a 
distinguished career and well-deserved retirement.
  I have been lucky to call Dave a friend for 35 years and have seen 
him not just as a brilliant lawyer but a fearsome litigator, a tireless 
advocate in the pursuit of justice, and an excellent judge.
  In fact, the same skills that led him to endlessly prepare for his 
date with his future wife Winifred somehow also landed him on the 
Minnesota Supreme Court.
  Here is the story.
  Winifred told me that she was more than a little bit unnerved during 
her first date with Dave--a lunch in Washington after they met when she 
was selling condos and he was buying one.
  At lunch, Winifred realized just how much Dave already knew about 
her. She was from Pittsburgh, and he had read up on every detail about 
the town, including the latest steel plant closing. In those pre-Google 
days, 24 hours after meeting her, he had somehow researched every 
detail about her life so he could be informed and impressive on the 
first date.
  She had already been thoroughly ``vetted,'' as if she herself was 
being considered for a national office.
  She was a little concerned, so on the next date, she brought a friend 
who happened to work for the Chamber of Commerce--just so she could get 
a second opinion.
  Unfazed, wanting to impress her friend, Dave researched and memorized 
the entire legislative agenda for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
  Dave may have overdone it, and Winifred came away from the lunch 
convinced that he was interested in her friend and not her. Somehow, 
Dave salvaged it. Winifred and Dave have been happily married for 38 
years.
  Those same skills Dave honed when he dated Winifred served him very 
well on the bench.
  I have so many fond memories of Dave, who impressed not just me but 
my family as well.
  On the day Paul Wellstone announced he was recommending Dave for U.S. 
attorney, my mom sent the article to me on my honeymoon with the words 
``how exciting is this!'' In addition to the usual newlywed photos, 
that article made it into my official honeymoon scrapbook.
  Dave played a very important role in another seminal moment in my 
life as well. The night I was elected Hennepin County attorney, it was 
Dave counting the votes late into the night. It was close. Everyone 
went home--except Dave. And at 5:00 a.m. the next morning, Dave called 
to tell me I had officially won.
  I am very grateful for Dave's friendship, his wisdom, and his sound 
advice and will be forever in awe of his brilliant career--as I know 
Paul Wellstone would have been.
  Congratulations to Dave on his retirement.

                          ____________________