[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 71 (Monday, April 26, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E454]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         IN RECOGNITION OF THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF FRED ARBANAS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 26, 2021

  Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to 
recognize the life and accomplishments of Fred Arbanas, who recently 
passed away at the age of 82. A husband, father, grandfather, athlete, 
public servant, and Kansas City icon, Fred was widely loved and will be 
fondly remembered. In his youth, Fred played for the Kansas City Chiefs 
and set records on the field. After his retirement from professional 
football, Fred dedicated himself to a life of service as an influential 
player in the Jackson County legislature for more than four decades of 
stunning community development.
  Born in Detroit, Michigan, Fred's introduction to Kansas City was 
through his time on the Kansas City Chiefs, then the Dallas Texans, as 
a tight end. For eight years, Fred set records for the Chiefs and 
helped bring them to two Super Bowls and a World Championship. Before 
his remarkable life came to end, Fred had been inducted into the 
Chiefs' Hall of Fame, the Missouri Hall of Fame, the Michigan Hall of 
Fame, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame's All-Time AFL Team. Even in 
the face of an injury at the height of his career, Mr. Arbanas 
continued to play and persevere, inspiring those around him.
  In 1973, after his departure from the NFL, Fred joined the Jackson 
County legislature. Between 1974 and 1989, Mr. Arbanas served as the 
chairman of the legislature four separate times. His tenure in politics 
was dedicated to transforming the County's recreational services and 
amenities. Over the course of his 41-year career, Jackson County came 
to boast the third largest county parks system in the United States, 
with more than 20,000 acres of land dedicated to that purpose. Fred 
also played a considerable role in the paving of every road in 
unincorporated Jackson County and in the relocation of the county jail, 
projects of great importance to the county at the time.
  There is no doubt that Fred Arbanas was a pillar of the Jackson 
County community. His dedication to the county and his place in Kansas 
City history will not be forgotten; his contributions to his community 
will be memorialized in the happy memories created in the green spaces 
his work made possible; and his inspiring example will be carried 
forward by a loving family and a grateful community, whose lives were 
touched, in so many ways, by his devotion to service. Fred is survived 
by his four children and eight grandchildren. His name will also live 
on through the Fred Arbanas Golf Course, christened in his honor.
  Fred was an icon to his community and a model public servant. His 
good deeds and commitment to helping others bring to mind Acts 20:35: 
``In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we 
must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he 
himself said, `It is more blessed to give than to receive.' '' Fred 
Arbanas embodied what it means to give rather than receive. Whether he 
was giving his all on the field, or giving his service in the halls of 
the Jackson County legislature--whether he was giving to his team or to 
his community at large--Fred Arbanas was always giving.
  Madam Speaker, please join me in remembering the incredible, vibrant 
life of Fred Arbanas. Please also join me in offering condolences to 
his family and all those mourning his loss. Let us seek to emulate his 
example in the work we do here in Congress by remembering that service 
is about setting our talents upon the alter of change and making life 
better for those in our communities.

                          ____________________