[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 12 (Tuesday, January 23, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S225]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING CECIL O'BRATE

  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I am here today to pay tribute and to honor 
and to mourn the passing of an American farmer, a Kansas farmer, an 
entrepreneur, a businessman, a philanthropist, a good friend, and 
mentor, Cecil O'Brate.
  Cecil was a strong advocate for Kansas and was committed to helping 
others succeed, and he is worthy of our tribute today and into the 
future.
  Cecil was born in 1928 in Enid, OK, during the Great Depression. He 
became a Kansan; graduated from Syracuse High School in our State; and 
before completing college in 1948, he left school to farm 3,000 rented 
acres in Kansas. Ironically, at the time of his death, he owned and 
operated tens of thousands of acres of farming land, including the 
original 3,000 he leased.
  Through investments in Southwest Kansas communities and support for 
various organizations in Kansas and across the country, Cecil O'Brate 
and his wife Frances have positively transformed countless lives.
  He established a business called American Warrior in 1984, which 
became one of Kansas's largest independent oil and gas producers in our 
State. And in 2013, Cecil and Frances established the O'Brate 
Foundation, which awards college scholarships and teaches life skills 
to students, most of whom grew up in the foster care system or below 
poverty level. Cecil loved to help other people succeed, particularly 
young people.
  He gave generously to many charities, and I have no doubt that the 
O'Brate Foundation will continue to provide educational opportunities 
to Kansans for years to come. I have had the privilege of speaking at 
the O'Brate Scholars event in Manhattan, KS, and it was moving to see 
how Cecil's generosity was transforming the future of those young men 
and women.
  Despite achieving great means and influence, he remained dedicated to 
the Kansas and midwestern values he learned as a young man on the farm 
fields in Hamilton County. And Cecil conducted himself always with 
humility and authenticity.
  He lived in Garden City for 60 years. To nearly everyone Cecil met, 
he would share that there is no substitute for an honest day's work, an 
inquisitive mind, and a desire to always do more. His life was a 
testament to those principles, and he lived them each day with 
authenticity and purpose.
  In many ways, Cecil O'Brate, his family, his business, exemplify the 
American dream. A boy who grew up in the Great Depression was 
successful in business, utilized that success to help other people, and 
in the process became a friend of President George W. Bush. I call it 
the American dream. It is what we are here to make sure remains alive 
and well for our citizens today and the citizens who follow us.
  I pay tribute and respect to Cecil O'Brate--all the good work and the 
person that he was, the human being that he was.
  Robba and I are praying for his wife of 76 years, Frances; his four 
sons Patrick, Michael, Steve, and Mark; and the entire O'Brate family 
and the community of Southwest Kansas.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.

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