[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 17785-17786]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO DANIEL J. WATKINS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 7, 2004

  Mr. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to note the passing of Daniel J. 
Watkins, of Prairie Village, Kansas, who passed away peacefully at his 
home with his wife and children around him on Wednesday, July 21, 2004, 
the feast day of his patron, St. Daniel the Prophet.
  Dan Watkins was born on December 18, 1923, the second of four 
children of Thomas J. and Theresa A. Watkins, and raised on the family 
farm near Albia, Iowa. He enlisted in the Navy in 1943 and was 
commissioned and assigned to the 37th Spec. Construction Battalion (Sea 
Bees) in the Pacific Theatre, where he was Asst. Company Commander on 
the island of Oahu, Hawaii, near Pearl Harbor. Following his service in 
the Navy, Dan completed his studies at Iowa State University, where he 
earned a degree in civil engineering. He was a member of the Phi Kappa 
fraternity and the track team. He was also inducted into the Tau Beta 
Pi, the Knights of St. Patrick and the Iowa Engineering honorary 
societies.
  Dan married Barbara L. Van Cleve on September 9, 1946. They moved to 
Kansas City in 1947 when Dan accepted a position with the firm of 
Howard Needles Tammen and Bergendoff. His entire professional career 
was spent with HNTB, culminating as the chairman of the Executive 
Committee. He took great satisfaction in the many roads, bridges, 
airports and other projects that HNTB designed. In 1989, Dan was 
awarded the Marston Medal by his alma mater, Iowa State University for 
outstanding achievement in engineering. He was also the recipient of 
the Distinguished Service Award by the National Society of Professional 
Engineers and by the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers.
  Dan was also very active in civic and charitable organizations 
serving the metropolitan area. Dan was a member of the Civic Council of 
Greater Kansas City, serving as a Director from 1985 to 1988. He was 
also Chairman of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce in 1982-
1983, after serving on the Board for several years. Dan served two 
terms as Chairman of Carondelet Health Corporation, after serving on 
the Board from its inception from 1983 until 1989. He was on the Board 
of Directors of St. Joseph Hospital for six years. Dan and Barb also 
spent many years fundraising for the St. Martin of Tours League, which 
sponsors the annual Snow Ball benefiting Catholic Charities for the 
Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas. Dan was President of the League in 
1985. In 1987, Dan was selected as the Catholic honoree of the Greater 
Kansas City Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. 
Dan served on the Rockhurst College Board of Regents, the Board of 
Trustees for the Midwest Research Institute and the Board of Directors 
of UMB South. He also served as a Prairie Village City Councilman for 
six years.
  Above all else, Dan was a faithful servant of Christ, a loving 
husband, and devoted father. His greatest gift to us was his example, 
including his strong Catholic Faith and his devotion to the Rosary. 
Perhaps the greatest testament to Dan's trust in the Lord was his 
willingness, together with Barb, to welcome each of their fifteen 
children into the world and provide all of them with abundant love. Dan 
will be missed dearly by the family, and his passing is a loss for the 
entire community.
  Dan was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas J. and Theresa A. 
Watkins, and one infant son, Paul, in whose name Dan sponsored a church 
built in Africa. Dan is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 57 
years, Barbara, who continues to reside at the family home, and by his 
children and their families: Daniel and Phyllis Watkins, Lawrence, KS; 
Robert and Julie Watkins, Dallas, TX; Alice and Jim Scherzberg, Olathe, 
KS; John and Melissa Watkins, Lawrence, KS; Marianne and Paul Horvath, 
Prairie Village, KS; Jeanne and Gene Schinstock, Hutchinson, KS; Thomas 
and K. Watkins, Prairie Village; James and Ruth Watkins, Australia; 
Barbara Sack Hodges and Gene Hodges, Merriam, KS; William and Connie 
Watkins, Leawood, KS; Molly and Dan DiCarlo, Covington, GA; Frances 
Hunt, Prairie Village; David and Theresa Watkins, and Patrick and 
Shannon Watkins, Overland Park, KS; and by his forty grandchildren and 
ten great-grandchildren, and by his sisters, Mary

[[Page 17786]]

Mahoney and Charlene Coady, and his brother, Robert Watkins, of Iowa.
  The Watkins family would like to acknowledge the kind, compassionate 
care of the Sisters, Servants of Mary at the end of Dan's life. I join 
with all of them, and with Dan and Barb's many friends and neighbors, 
in mourning the passing of this remarkable man, who gave so much to so 
many during his rich, full life.

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