[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12250]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING DEL GREENFIELD

 Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, those of us entrusted to represent 
our States in the Senate are so unbelievably fortunate thanks to the 
wonderful people we meet and work with along the way. These encounters 
remind us on a regular basis of the inherent goodness of so many folks, 
and of their dedication to making our communities, our Nation and our 
world a better place in which to live and raise families. Today I pay 
tribute to one such person--a very special person--I was blessed to 
have met along the way.
  Del Greenfield, who passed away just last month, was an extraordinary 
wife, mother, and citizen whose uncommon commitment to humankind and 
peace touched thousands of people and enriched our world in ways that 
will ripple across generations for as long as we humans will inhabit 
this Earth.
  I met Del and her husband, Lou, long ago when I was running the Grey 
Panthers in Oregon. She was a well-known political activist and worked 
for some outstanding public servants, including Governor Bob Straub and 
my former colleague, Congressman Les AuCoin. In the early eighties, Del 
began to lead the Portland chapter of Physicians for Social 
Responsibility, and it was there that she made a profound and 
unforgettable impression on so many government leaders who played a 
role in deciding matters of war and peace, equality and inequality, 
justice and injustice.
  She was well known to those of us in public office for several 
reasons. We all came to respect her tremendous command of grassroots 
politics. She harbored an unflinching belief in the power of people to 
effect change, and she was quite skillful at organizing her troops and 
using the strength of the many to overcome the sometimes unnatural 
advantages of the most fortunate few.
  She was also unforgettable because of her unyielding, boundless 
passion for her beliefs and her mission. Del was full of praise for us 
when she approved of what we were up to--and thankfully, that was most 
of the time with me--but she never, ever gave up when we took an action 
she disagreed with. Even when that disagreement had long passed, Del 
continued to view those disappointments as potential teachable moments, 
as opportunities for our growth. On those occasions, Del could chew on 
you pretty good, but if she liked you, she always did it with a smile 
on her lips and a twinkle in her eyes. She frequently forgave, but she 
never forgot.
  And, importantly, and this was perhaps the root of her high standing 
with all of us, there was never any doubt about Del's motives. If she 
possessed any ego, I never encountered it. The one thing I always knew 
about Del, even on those rare occasions where we disagreed, was that it 
was never about her. She was inherently decent and kind and involved in 
all of her causes for all the right reasons.
  I am so proud to have had Del and Lou as two of my earliest 
supporters and am so honored to have had the opportunity to work with 
and learn from such a wonderful, powerful woman. She and Lou leave to 
us all a legacy of hope and goodness that will be carried on for 
generations to come by her wonderful children, their grandchildren, 
their great grandchildren, and the thousands of others who have been 
touched by their loving, good works.
  Because I know she is still watching me closely, and because I know 
she could care less about how many nice things I have to say about her, 
Del, I will think of you every opportunity I get to end this misguided 
war in Iraq. And I will think of you every time I have an opportunity 
to bring about lasting peace, justice, and equality. Your lessons and 
love will never be forgotten.

                          ____________________