[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 68 (Tuesday, April 20, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2061-S2062]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MORNING BUSINESS
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HONORING STATE PATROL SERGEANT JIM SMITH
Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, on April 13, I delivered remarks on
the Senate Floor to share my condolences for Iowa State Patrol Sergeant
Jim Smith, who lost his life in the line of duty. I was honored to
attend Sergeant Smith's funeral on April 16 in Independence. Jim Smith
was revered as a man of strong convictions, love of family, and deep-
rooted faith. Iowa State Patrol Colonel Nathan Fulk gave the following
eulogy in honor of Sergeant Smith. I ask unanimous consent that the
eulogy be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Col. Nathan Fulk Remarks at the Funeral for Sgt. James Smith
I'm going to ask all of you here today to do something for
Jim Smith. I'm going to ask you to do something for Jim
Smith's wife, Kathy, his son, Zander, and his daughter,
Jazlyn. And what we're asking you to do today is to open your
minds and your hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ. His presence
is here today. Jim Smith is here with us today.
Our faith teaches us that in our suffering God is with us.
Jim's priorities were faith, family, and his commitment to
public service and his community. During a time in history
when we wonder--with conflict, adversity, and challenge, we
can doubt the support we have in society. However, the
outpouring of support for the City of Independence has been
truly amazing. You've reminded us why we love working,
serving, and living in the state of Iowa. You've reminded us
why we have a strong passion to serve and protect those in
the community. And you've shown us that love, compassion, and
respect are true Iowa values.
This senseless and tragic loss is difficult for everyone
here today. Our Department of Public Safety family, our Iowa
State Patrol Family, you know we're hurting but we're not
broken. We are struggling but we're not lost. And we're
deeply saddened but we will work to find peace in the days
ahead. Commissioner Stephan Bayens and I are extremely proud
of the work you do each and every day. His expectation for
our leaders is we take the absolute best care of our
personnel. Rest assured that we are here for you and we will
keep you in our thoughts and prayers.
We will remain committed to serving Iowans with integrity,
fairness, respect, honesty, courage, and compassion. This
will be vital to our healing process and into the future. We
are here for our troopers, our special agents, our
communication specialists, our local law enforcement
partners, and our first responders. We must navigate through
this together, day by day, and week by week. We're going to
continue to do our job and we're going to do it well. We're
going to do it with confidence, professionalism, and
integrity. We will work together to establish a pathway to
heal while we honor Sgt. Jim Smith's sacrifice and his
legacy.
Jim's faith and family was the foundation of his life. He
loved being an Iowa State Trooper, but his job did not define
who he was. What defined him was his family, his faith, and
his true love for others. Sergeant Jim Smith worked for the
State Patrol for twenty-seven and a half years, and twenty-
five years on our tactical unit. During that time, he served
as a team leader. And he was a humble man with a tremendous
work ethic. Jim loved his job and he set an excellent example
for others to follow. He mentioned how his parents provided
him important qualities of hard work and determination that
led to his success. He provided strong leadership in District
Ten, alongside Lt. Senne, Sgt. O'Rear, and Sgt. Trimble. They
all speak highly of his character, his integrity, and his
commitment to do the right thing for the right reason. I
learned this week that Jim's biggest vice was chocolate milk.
Chocolate milk was a treat for him when he accomplished
something special. I'm sure most of us in this room today
wish chocolate milk was our biggest vice. This just speaks of
Jim's character and who he was.
On the Area C Tactical Team for the Iowa State Patrol, he
was extremely experienced in handling high-risk calls. He had
quiet confidence that provided reassurance to the Area C
Tactical Unit. This quiet confidence exhibited as `we got
this.' Jim was a sheepdog, that protected sheep. He always
wanted to be the number one man in the door. This was his
struggle with becoming a team leader on the tactical team,
was he would have to give up that number one position. Jim's
wife, Kathy, recently mentioned to the State Patrol staff why
he wanted to be the first to the door, and she now
understands it. His priority was to protect his people.
Captain Olmstead and several other leaders in the
organization challenged Jim to put in for a supervisory
position. He struggled with this. Jim would politely decline
and say, ``I love taking bad guys to jail and working the
road.'' And he did it well. He felt that if he was promoted
to become a supervisor he-couldn't do his road enforcement
responsibilities, to protect and serve. One day Jim called
Captain Olmstead and said he thought it was time to take on
the leadership and supervisory position. He knew he needed to
mentor young troopers, to show them what a work ethic and a
commitment to the organization and to the State of Iowa meant
to him. He went on to be promoted to sergeant and continue to
do what he loved while mentoring, leading by examples, and
encouraging troopers to work hard each and every day.
Jim was an extremely humble person that strove for
excellence in his work, was strong in his faith, and he
walked in Jesus' footsteps. He recently provided a sermon at
church entitled Act Your Age. He brought in a Superman
lunchbox and began to share the food that his wife, Kathy,
had prepared for him. Jim pulled out an apple and he said
that he asked his wife, Kathy, to pack him a Twinkie. He said
Kathy reminded him that ``we're not on a diet, we're just
making healthy life choices.'' But during that sermon he had
a powerful message, a message he wants you to hear today. Jim
said, ``I want my kids to know what's good and true.'' He
spoke of sacrificial love and that children are adorable
little creatures of God. He said that ``my kids fill my life
with love.'' His correlation with that sermon was that God
sees us as the children he created. You are a child of God,
act your age. He closed with, ``Cherish God, know that God
loves you, God still sees you as a child he created. So go to
him as a child, depend on him, love him, and seek to be loved
by him.'' It was a very captivating message he shared.
Family was extremely important to Jim. He often spoke of
his wife, Kathy, and he loved you deeply. He spoke of his
son, Zander, and his daughter, Jazlyn. He loved you two very
much. He loved spending time with both of you and telling
stories to all the troopers about the trips you took and the
quality time you spent together. And that meant the world to
him. He often spoke to the troopers--he was trying to be a
good role model and a good father, and spoke of the dreams he
had for both of you two. He wanted to be a good example for
you. He wanted to lead you down a path of faith and to set
you up for success in life. You both made him an extremely
proud father.
I've been struggling to find the right words to comfort us
all today. As we walk through this together, seeking to find
a sense of purpose and a sense of peace, I don't have to look
for those words because Jim left them for us. These
handwritten words are from Jim. They were in his Bible, and
Kathy provided them to us this week. The words were, ``Don't
just know, do. Live in service. Know the goal, finish strong.
Teach with application. Don't just tell, show. Don't just
learn, do. Live out God's word. Live out faith. Teach, take
care of our family, but also change the world.''
[[Page S2062]]
1 Peter 2:21 says, ``For God called you to do good, even if
it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is
your example and you must follow in his footsteps.'' You
know, reflecting on Jim's life has impacted us all this week.
It has impacted me and challenged me to think about being the
best person I can be. So I've asked myself some tough
questions. Am I following in Jesus Christ's footsteps? Am I
following in Jim Smith's footsteps? Can I be a man that cares
for my community like Jim Smith cared for this community? Can
I be a man that loves my children like Jim Smith loved Zander
and Jazlyn? Can I be a man that loves my wife like Jim loved
his wife, Kathy? And can I be a man that loves the Lord Jesus
Christ, like Jim Smith loved the Lord, his God? We love you
Jim, we will see you again
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