[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24251]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO FRED BARON

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 19, 2008

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, today I pay 
tribute to the life of one of my long time friends, Fred Baron.
  Widely known as one of the best trial lawyers in America, Fred Baron 
dedicated his life to making sure fairness was represented in the law 
and that the rights of the marginalized could not be trampled over. He 
was truly a champion of the working man, spending his whole career 
representing workers who had developed occupational illnesses. He was a 
pioneer in uncovering the harm that asbestos exposure causes.
  I was most proud of Fred Baron when he advocated on behalf of several 
hundred children in the west Dallas section of my district who lived 
near a lead smelter that polluted their neighborhood. Thanks to his 
efforts not only were those families able to move, but the area has now 
been cleaned and is being made once again livable.
  Fred Baron will long be known for the charitable work he and his wife 
were committed to. In 2002 he and his wife Lisa founded the Baron and 
Blue Foundation to help nonprofit organizations fight the problems of 
homelessness and displacement. The foundation was exceptionally helpful 
in helping many of the hurricane evacuees Dallas has seen in the last 
few years. Fred even spent many days after Hurricane Katrina consoling 
and counseling the victims who had made their way to Dallas, bringing 
them food, toiletries, and helping them out however he could.
  Madam Speaker, Frederick Martin Baron is survived by his wife Lisa 
Blue-Baron, his son Andrew; daughter Courtney and her husband Brad 
Singer and their daughter Liza; daughters Alessandra, Caroline, and 
Nathalie; brother Robert and sister Joan; and the countless others he 
touched in the years he spent with us.

                          ____________________