[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 13779-13780]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO JOE PURCELL

 Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, on Saturday, June 24, one of the 
finest public servants that my State has produced was honored in his 
hometown of Benton, AR. Joe Edward Purcell was many things to many 
people. He was a devoted family man. He was a loyal friend. He was also 
a dedicated public servant whose reputation for integrity and 
professionalism brought honor and respectability to every public office 
he held.
  Joe Purcell was born in the small southeast Arkansas town of Helena. 
Shortly after graduating from Little Rock Junior College, he enlisted 
in the U.S. Army for service in World War II. Upon his return from 
service, he entered law school at the University of Arkansas in 
Fayetteville and graduated in 1952. Later that year, he opened his law 
practice in Benton and quickly earned the reputation throughout the 
community of a trustworthy advocate of the people he represented.
  ``Honest Joe'' carried that reputation with him through what would 
become a distinguished career of public service at both city and State 
levels of government. Beginning in 1955, Joe served as Benton City 
Attorney and later as Benton Municipal Judge. In 1967, he was elected 
as attorney general for the State of Arkansas. During his tenure, his 
leadership led to a number of reforms and innovations, including the 
establishment of the consumer protection office which to this day 
provides consumer education and promotes the principles of fair 
business practices and honest balloting.
  After an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign, Joe was elected three 
times as Lieutenant Governor beginning in 1975. In that capacity, he 
also became the acting Governor of our State for 6 days in early 1979, 
when he filled the unexpired term of former Governor and Senator-elect, 
David Pryor, in the days prior to the gubernatorial inauguration of 
Bill Clinton. It was Clinton who would later describe his predecessor 
as ``a self-made man who represented honesty and integrity in public 
service.'' Joe would serve as our State's Lieutenant Governor until his 
retirement from public service in 1981.
  The Benton sidewalk memorial that was recently unveiled in honor of 
Joe Purcell is fittingly located just in front of the old Federal 
building downtown. I am hopeful that it will serve as a reminder to 
generations of Arkansans not just of the numerous accomplishments that 
Joe Purcell compiled over his political career but also of the legacy 
of integrity and public service that he has left us all. The genuine 
compassion he held for those around him led him to a life dedicated to 
making his community and his State better places to live for all of us. 
It is truly a selfless principle for those of us in public service, and 
those of us in our personal lives, to embody each and every day.
  I am proud to have on my staff a young man named David Hogue. David 
is the grandson of Joe Purcell and it was at his suggestion that this 
tribute in Benton came to fruition. David has been a tremendous asset 
to my office, and I am appreciative of all of his hard work and 
dedication on behalf of our State and its citizens. This fall, he will 
be headed to law school in Fayetteville, just like his grandfather so 
many years before, and I wish him the very best.

[[Page 13780]]

  It is often said that a community reveals itself, not only by the men 
it produces, but also by the men it honors and remembers. Joe Purcell 
embodied the best in all of us and because of people like him, the 
community of Benton and the State of Arkansas are such wonderful places 
to live today.

                          ____________________