[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17820]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                       TRIBUTE TO VIRGINIA MEDINA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ROBERT T. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 26, 1999

  Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to rise today in tribute to 
Virginia Medina of Clarksburg, California. I ask all of my colleagues 
to join me in remembering this remarkable wife, mother, and public 
servant.
  Mrs. Medina passed away on June 27, 1999 following a three-year 
battle with ovarian cancer. She worked as a law librarian at the 
California State Department of Water Resources. I salute her 
professional as well as personal dedication to inspiring others and 
working hard to make a better life for her family.
  State Senator Deborah Ortiz, Mrs. Medina's daughter, described her 
mother as ``my greatest inspiration.'' Mrs. Medina was a working mother 
who put herself through secretarial school after surviving an early 
bout with thyroid cancer.
  She had a wonderful reputation throughout her community as a warm, 
loving woman who never hesitated to help others in need. Mrs. Medina 
inspired significant legislation in the California State Legislature, 
authored by her daughter, which provides for annual research funding 
into gender-based cancers.
  At the Department of Water Resources, Mrs. Medina was known as an 
exceptionally hard worker with a sunny personality. She served the 
people of California in that agency for over fifteen years.
  One of her coworkers told the Sacramento Bee, ``Despite all her 
suffering, she always had time to listen and to encourage others. She 
didn't complain. She wasn't cynical. She brought a lot of love and 
light to other peoples' lives.''
  A native of Lafayette, Colorado, Virginia Medina was born to a family 
of migrant workers. She moved to the Sacramento area at the age of 
seven. Although she was a high school dropout who married at 16, she 
always stressed the importance of education to her own children.
  Mrs. Medina not only served as a worthy role model for her daughter, 
but for her four sons as well. We can all respect the way in which she 
raised her family, promoted strong values, and contributed to her 
community.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join with me in 
remembering this strong and vibrant wife, mother, and citizen. As her 
family and friends endure this great loss, our thoughts are with them 
during this most difficult of times. Yet the legacy which Mrs. Medina 
leaves behind will endure for years to come.

                          ____________________