[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 146 (Thursday, September 19, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E926]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING JANA BOMMERSBACH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GREG STANTON

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 19, 2024

  Mr. STANTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate the life and legacy of 
a legendary Arizona journalist, Jana Bommersbach, who passed away on 
July 17, 2024, at the age of 78 years old.
  A North Dakota native, Jana moved to Arizona after earning her 
master's degree at the University of Michigan. It's in Arizona that she 
began an incredible career, which revolved around her love of the 
American West and all its colorful characters.
  When Jana started at the Arizona Republic in the 1970s, she was one 
of just six women reporters in the newsroom. She worked her way up from 
reporter to editor, first for the Republic and later the Phoenix New 
Times. Because of her dogged reporting, the Arizona Press Club named 
her Arizona Journalist of the Year and honored her with its top 
investigative journalism prize, the Don Bolles Award, multiple times.
  Jana's talents took her well beyond the newsroom when one of those-
award winning stories turned into her hit book, The Trunk Murderess: 
Winnie Ruth Judd. Nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award and winning 
Arizona's only literary prize, The Trunk Murderess revisits the 
complicated story of Winnie Ruth Judd and a more than 60-year-old 
murder case, giving us a glimpse of Phoenix as a young frontier town. 
Jana earned the elderly Judd's trust, getting her to tell her side of 
the story for the very first time. That was Jana--reporting on true 
crime before it was trendy--because she understood just how much these 
stories matter.
  Her life's work brought attention to the issues closest to her heart, 
like mental health and domestic violence. She paired vigorous 
journalism with selfless advocacy, giving her time to countless 
nonprofits. In 2020, she was inducted into the Arizona Women's Hall of 
Fame, rightly recognizing her lifetime of achievement.
  More than anything, Jana was a joy to be around: a quick-witted, 
gifted storyteller who could leave any room in tears of laughter. She 
kept friends from all backgrounds and political parties and knew how to 
throw political jabs with a grin. Congress should take a lesson from 
her.
  A trailblazer and fierce advocate for the voiceless, Jana's impact 
will live on through her work and the countless lives she brightened. 
We now do our best to keep her spirit with us by aspiring to be more 
like her. To live a life of purpose, integrity and fun. We join her 
friends and family in grief and gratitude, thankful we bore witness to 
her incredible legacy, full of stories to be told for generations to 
come.
  Thank you to Jana, and Godspeed.

                          ____________________