[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 1293-1294]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                      A TRIBUTE TO BERNARD R. DICK

 Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I stand before you today to pay 
tribute to Bernard R. Dick, a distinguished citizen of my hometown, 
Rutland, Vermont, and a man who I have deeply respected and admired my 
entire life. I thought highly of Bernie's talent as a lawyer, respected 
immensely his service to his country, and admired his devotion to 
family and community.
  I ask that The Rutland Daily Herald editorial from January 8, 2001, 
be included in the record as part of this tribute:

       The death of Bernard R. Dick this past weekend marks the 
     end of another distinguished and longtime Rutland legal 
     career. Only recently came the deaths of two other local 
     attorneys of note--Bartley J. Costello and Thomas Ryan.
       Bernie Dick, born in 1909 to a Rutland family, was a whiz 
     at baseball at Rutland High School, where he made his mark as 
     varsity catcher. It was a role he remembered long after he 
     reached adulthood, and for years he could be seen in the 
     audience when the RHS baseball team played home games.
       His education was quite varied. After graduating from 
     Rutland High he went to the University of Alabama. After 
     college graduation in 1931 he studied law at New York 
     University. He was admitted to the bar in Vermont in 1937.
       As with many young men of his time, Bernie Dick was swept 
     up in the swirl of World War II. Eventually, after Pearl 
     Harbor, he enlisted in the Army as a private in November 
     1942. Because of his law degree he was stationed in Hawaii, 
     where by 1946 he had reached the rank of captain.
       In Hawaii he became chief of the claims division of the 
     central Pacific area, and for his work received the `Army 
     Commendation Ribbon.' The citation said, in part: `He 
     reviewed and made recommendations for the payment, 
     disallowance or collection of almost 1,000 claims. So expert 
     were his decisions that no claim reviewed by him and 
     subsequently appealed has been reversed. He demonstrated a 
     high degree of professional skill and efficiency.'
       After his honorable discharge in 1946, Dick returned to 
     Rutland and resumed his practice in the law firm of Bove, 
     Billado and Dick. It was an active law firm in many fields, 
     including politics. The senior partner, Peter A. Bove, was an 
     active supporter of Gov. Ernest W. Gibson and U.S. Sen. 
     George D. Aiken. Francis Billado ultimately went to the 
     Legislature and was elected Vermont adjutant general, a post 
     he held until his death.
       In legal practice Dick was the one who kept to the daily 
     grind, but the three partners shared ownership with some 
     Castleton people to run a popular summer dance hall at 
     Bomoseen and the Crystal Beach facility on Lake Bomoseen, 
     among several enterprises.
       In 1947 Dick was named judge of the Rutland Municipal 
     Court, in line with the policy of Governor Gibson, himself a 
     veteran, to

[[Page 1294]]

     name veterans to public posts. The municipal court system 
     preceded the present system of district courts, and there was 
     political guessing as to who would be named by the governor. 
     His Army experience served him well, and Dick served four 
     years.
       After the departure of Bove and Billado to other jobs, 
     Bernie Dick ran his own practice for a while, and in 1949 
     formed a new legal association with Donald A. Hackel and 
     Richard A. Hull. It was the latest step in a long and varied 
     Rutland legal career.

  Bernie, you will be sorely missed by all those who knew you, and by 
an entire community who benefitted from your knowledge, hard work and 
many talents.

                          ____________________