[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 80 (Monday, May 10, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S2409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MORNING BUSINESS

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                  REMEMBERING CLAIRE SERDIUK ANDERSON

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, last month, we lost a generous and 
beautiful soul with the passing of Claire Serdiuk Anderson. Claire 
devoted her life to public service. During her 46 years on this Earth, 
she changed it for the better. As an Illinois native, she advocated for 
candidates and causes that pushed our State and country to be more like 
her: kind, gentle, and accepting.
  Claire was driven, in part, by her Catholic faith. She believed in 
her sacred responsibility to help others, and she encouraged her 
friends and family to do the same, with a warm smile and a loving 
heart.
  Anyone would have been lucky to sit in the same room as Claire. She 
would captivate any audience with her gifts as a storyteller and her 
instincts as a comedian. In addition to graduating summa cum laude from 
Loyola University, Claire also studied at another venerated Chicago 
institution: The Second City Comedy Club. She used to say that her 
background in comedy and improvisation prepared her well for a career 
in politics. And I can think of more than a few politicians who would 
be lucky to have half of her charm and charisma.
  Claire played key roles in the careers of President Obama and other 
national leaders. She was the financial director for his first campaign 
for U.S. Senate. Claire also raised funds for my friend and colleague 
Senator Duckworth when she first ran for Congress. In both instances, 
Claire was there from the beginning, investing her time, talent, and 
passion into two candidates who would go on to make history and inspire 
a new generation of American leaders.
  I came to know Claire during the early 2000s, when she worked in my 
Chicago office as my State scheduler. As part of my team, she was 
beloved for her tenacity and her good cheer. In her eternal wisdom, she 
left my office in 2004 to help a skinny community organizer in the 
South Side run for Senate but she remained, always, a treasured member 
of the extended Team Durbin.
  In her final act of charity, Claire donated her organs and tissues. I 
would like to think that, right now, someone may be seeing the world 
through Claire's wise eyes, perceiving all the possibilities for our 
future, rather than settling for the ways things are today.
  I hope all of us can learn from Claire's example. Loretta and I join 
her husband Kurt, her son Henry, her parents Yvonne and Matthew, her 
brother Andrew, and everyone in her extended family, and so many 
friends, in mourning Claire's loss.
  Thank you for your loving service, Claire. We will miss you.

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