[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 215 (Friday, December 18, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1183]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO CHUCK SASSARA

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. DON YOUNG

                               of alaska

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 18, 2020

  Mr. YOUNG. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a long-time friend 
and a great Alaskan, Chuck Sassara, who died this Fall at the age of 
89, just weeks before turning 90, after living an incredible life. 
Chuck was born in Detroit, Michigan on Oct 19, 1930, and we lost a 
great friend and Alaskan spirit on September 25, 2020. Chuck was an 
Aviator, Husband, Father, Grandfather, State Legislator, Sailor, 
Advocate, Author, Businessman, Athlete, Storyteller and, an amazing 
Character. He is known and loved by thousands around the globe and died 
on a Friday afternoon while refueling his Toyota van, preparing to go . 
. . somewhere.
  Chuck loved life. He was always headed to the next adventure--whether 
that was driving the Alcan Highway almost 50 times, ferrying aircraft 
across the continent, driving across North Africa with his young family 
at the end of the Algerian war, or sailing across the Atlantic. He 
believed in the best of human nature and was never cynical about the 
future. He was unafraid to try new things, but he didn't always 
succeed. Lately, it was his repeated failures to master his ``smart 
phone'' with 89-year-old fingers.
  Born to Charles Sr. (Pappy) and Kathleen Agnes (Nana) he, along with 
brother Richard (Dick) Sassara, grew up between Miami, the Panama Canal 
Zone, and Los Angeles. Meeting his true love Ann at University HS in 
Los Angeles, the couple married while Chuck attended UCLA. Upon 
graduation they had a discussion; go back to Panama or see Alaska? In 
the spring of 1955, they drove north in a VW bus to build a life and 
help bring a new state into being. In the early 60's Chuck ran for the 
State House and quickly became the Majority Leader and Finance Chair. 
In these roles he championed such important work as the 1964 Equal 
Rights Amendment, Women's Rights, and the creation of University of 
Alaska Anchorage. His peers in the Legislature included Nick Begich, 
Willie Hensley, Ted Stevens and me. The group of us were often 
competitors, often allies, and after session ``happy-hour'' 
compatriots, bound together by circumstance, a common purpose and 
shared values. We were great friends and had great respect for one 
another, whether we agreed or disagreed on the politics of the day. We 
need more of that spirit of bipartisan friendship, not less.
  As an aviator Chuck flew commercial, multi engine aircraft and was an 
IFR rated pilot that flew 161 different types of aircraft, logging over 
25,000 hours in planes as small as the Breezy to as large as the four 
engine Lockheed Constellation. As a sailor he crossed the Atlantic, 
made passages from Miami to Los Angeles, sailed solo from Seattle to 
Whittier Alaska, and made several dozen trips to the Bahamas and 
beyond, finishing with an offshore passage from Florida to the Carolina 
Outer Banks with son Charlie, nephew Rick and friend Michel Bourquin in 
2017. As a writer, his memoir ``Propellers, Politics and People: Chuck 
Sassara's Alaska'' is a testament to his skill as a storyteller and the 
craft of putting others first, in narrative and in life.
  He is survived by his proudest achievement: his sons Charlie and 
Richard, grandchildren Tyler, Rachael, and Annalyssa, and his daughter-
in-law Mary, Mimi Bourquin, his nephew Rick and his wife Amy, their 
daughter Katy, niece Lisa and her daughters Alexandria and Gabrielle, 
and his sister-in-law, Ellen.
  Most of all, Chuck will be survived by the raucous and wonderful 
stories he told to friends over coffee and beer, the lives he saved, 
and the spirit of Alaska he imbued in everything he touched. All of us 
who knew him rest comfortably knowing he's somewhere on a broad reach, 
steering by starlight, and reunited with his beloved Ann. We love 
Chuck, sail on and Godspeed.

                          ____________________