[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 7] [Senate] [Pages 8280-8282] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO CHRISTINE SARBANES Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I rise to pay tribute to the spouse of one of our colleagues. The entire Senate [[Page 8281]] has now been notified that Mrs. Christine Sarbanes, the beloved wife of Senator Sarbanes, has passed away. I come to the floor with a heavy heart and with fond memories of, indeed, a remarkable person. Christine Sarbanes was quite a woman in her own right. She was a woman of keen intellect, warm heart, and a compassion for the underdog. She was a woman who was a force in her own very quiet, understated way. If you really liked and admired Paul Sarbanes, which all of Maryland did, you also really loved Christine Sarbanes. Senator Sarbanes often joked that whenever he would come to an event, they would say: Where is Chris? Or they would say: Where is Christine? She often represented him in and around our State. She had a unique way of talking that brought immeasurable commonsense and practicality but yet a connection to people and their day-to-day needs. Theirs was a remarkable relationship that I had the good fortune of observing. I have known the Sarbanes family for more than 30 years. I met the young Paul Sarbanes, a spirited reformer, in Baltimore during the 1960s. Baltimore was dominated by political bosses. There were those of us who were bringing a new day, change that one could believe in. We reformers were running for local offices and challenging the machine. The local press nicknamed us the ``shiny brights'' because we saw ourselves as a new force. Paul Sarbanes was the first to beat the machine, running for the House of Delegates and then for Congress. When he ran for the Senate, I filled the House seat held by Senator Sarbanes. It was the remarkable third congressional seat. That seat was held by Paul Sarbanes, then by me, then by Ben Cardin, and now by John Sarbanes. One of the joys of Christine's life was to see John take the oath of office and to take the seat in the House of Representatives that his father held. This was a remarkable couple, as you saw them doing good and having a strong presence in our community. They were really made for each other. These were people who really believed in the life of the intellect, but the life of the intellect lived in the community. They met at Oxford. Christine, like Paul, shared a very modest background. Her dad was an electrician; her mother was a waitress. She was a scholarship girl, as they said in those days, to some of the private schools in England that then took her to a scholarship at Oxford where she won both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree. The Baltimore Sun has a wonderful article about Mrs. Sarbanes, which I ask unanimous consent to print in the Record. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: [From the Baltimore Sun, Mar. 24, 2009] Christine Sarbanes (By Frederick N. Rasmussen) Christine D. Sarbanes, a retired educator, active board member and wife of former Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes, died Sunday of cancer at her Guilford home. She was 73. ``Her life and legacy as a teacher and community servant touched thousands of Mary-landers and reminds us all that a life lived for others is the greatest of gifts,'' Gov. Martin O'Malley said in a statement Monday. ``She believed in the dignity of every individual, and that every person has potential that we, as a community, can unlock through literacy and access to higher learning.'' Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin said in a statement that Mrs. Sarbanes' death is a ``tremendous loss to all those who knew her'' and that she had ``enormous grace and presence.'' He added: ``She was extremely likable'' and ``had an ability to relate to people and make them feel good.'' Christine Dunbar was born in London and raised in Brighton, England, the daughter of an electrician and a waitress. After winning a scholarship, she attended Brighton and Hove High School for Girls. She later earned a bachelor's degree in Literae Humaniores from St. Hugh's College, Oxford University, in 1958, and a master's degree, also from Oxford, in 1974. It was political activism that brought her and her future husband together, when both were attending Oxford in the late 1950s. He was a Rhodes scholar. ``She came to a meeting of the American Association I headed. I forget what was on the agenda. All I remember of that meeting was that was where I met Christine,'' Mr Sarbanes told The Sun in a 1987 interview. ``She was involved in trying to get women into the [all-male] Oxford Union, a debating society. I became very interested in that and invited her to tea to talk about it.'' Mrs. Sarbanes said in the interview ``People thought it was strange that an American would be so interested in this.'' After graduation, she began teaching Latin at Dana Hall School for Girls in Wellesley, Mass. After marrying in 1960, Mrs. Sarbanes became a lecturer in classics at Goucher College. In 1974, she left Goucher. After a four year break, she returned to teaching in 1978, joining the Gilman School faculty, where she continued teaching Latin, Greek and French until retiring in 2000. Lillian Burgunder, who taught Spanish and art history at Gilman, was a longtime colleague and friend. ``She was a wonderful teacher, and her knowledge of Latin, Greek and ancient civilization was remarkable. She was very intelligent and enthusiastic, and she brought that into the classroom,'' Mrs. Burgunder said. ``She was dedicated to making her kids understand, and it was common to see a child in her office she was helping because she wanted to make sure they understood the material,'' she said. Nick Schloeder, a former Gilman teacher and coach, who had been an adviser to Mr. Sarbanes for 40 years, was also a colleague of Mrs. Sarbanes. ``I have a rather loud voice, and Christine had the classroom next to mine. I would hear a tap on the door, and Christine would say, `Mr Schloeder, I'm teaching a Latin class, and you're going to have to lower your voice or get some new stories,' '' he said, laughing. ``There was a great intellectual compatibility between Christine and Paul. Both were very smart, well-educated, and both loved politics,'' he said. ``She was not just a candidate's wife but a member of the inner circle. She was very much a part of Paul's inner circle,'' Mr Schloeder said. ``She was good politically and not afraid to express herself. She had a great political mind and really understood politics.'' Mr. Schloeder recalled that the two were inseparable and determined campaigners. ``When Paul ran for the House of Delegates in 1966, and Congress four years later, the two worked the bus stops and would knock on 500 doors in an afternoon,'' he said. ``And they would do that day after day. I can't imagine them any other way than as a couple.'' In addition to having a full-time job as a teacher, raising her three children, and assisting her husband in his political life, Mrs. Sarbanes found time to be an active board member. As child growing up in England during World War II, Mrs. Sarbanes developed a life-long love of books, libraries and librarians. ``There weren't a lot of books in her home, and I think she read every book in the library in Brighton,'' said her son Michael A. Sarbanes of Baltimore. For the past decade, Mrs. Sarbanes had been a member of the board of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. ``I do not know of anyone who worked as hard for the libraries of our city. Her commitment and dedication was important to the recent opening of the first two new libraries in Baltimore in over 30 years,'' Mayor Sheila Dixon said in a statement Monday. ``To Christine, libraries were a sanctuary and a place of enlightenment and a place that could change people's lives'' said Dr. Carla D. Hayden, executive director of the Pratt. ``She wasn't just a board member but an active board member who headed many committees, including community services. So much of the community outreach programs are because of her,'' she said. She said the news of Mrs. Sarbanes' death hit her staff ``particularly hard.'' ``She was a very warm person, and she mixed that warmth with a practical mind. She was a steady force for us, and everyone knew they could count on Christine,'' Dr. Hayden said. She served on the Walters Art Museum board in the 1980s and continued to lend her expertise and time to several committees. Dr. Gary Vikan, Walters director, recalled a conversation with Mrs. Sarbanes after her return from Dublin, Ireland, when she casually mentioned that museums there didn't charge for admission. ``That conversation took place in October 2005, and the next October, we dropped our entrance fee,'' Dr. Vikan said with a laugh. For more than. 20 years, as a member of the Baltimore Volunteer Group to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, Mrs. Sarbanes delivered hundreds of presentations and organized fundraisers for the organization statewide. She was an ``eloquent representative of the highest caliber of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF,'' wrote William Van Pelt, who manages the organization's Office of Public Policy and Advocacy in Washington, in a recommendation for an award several years ago. ``Her interest was educating area children to the wider world and culture of the world's neediest children,'' said Mary Jo Marvin, a member of the Baltimore group. ``We called [[Page 8282]] Christine `the Whirlwind' because of her boundless energy and torrent of ideas. She was an inspiration to all of us.'' Mrs. Sarbanes was a longtime communicant of the Episcopal Cathedral of the Incarnation. A memorial service will be held at 5 p.m. April 3 at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, 400 Cathedral St. Also surviving are another son, Rep. John P. Sarbanes of Riderwood; a daughter, Janet M. Sarbanes of Los Angeles; and six grandchildren. Ms. MIKULSKI. It tells the story. Senator Sarbanes has told this story as well. He went to a meeting of the American Association, where he met a young British woman who was interested in getting women in the Oxford debating union. Women were excluded from the Oxford debating union. He saw Christine. He saw her charm, her charisma, her passion, her advocacy for women when it was just coming to the fore. Suddenly, Paul Sarbanes became an impassioned supporter of getting women in the Oxford Union. He was an equally unabashed supporter of getting women in the Senate, which helped me become the first Democratic woman here. That was the Sarbaneses. They met there. They met on a cause. The cause began their love for each other and their love of this country and the love of making this country a better place. We all know Senator Sarbanes's remarkable career in the Senate, a man we all admired for his honesty, his integrity, his honor, and his ability to get the job done. Maryland loved him by reelecting him on several occasions, often being the highest vote getter. Christine came back and helped Paul with his career. She also continued her work in our community. Mrs. Sarbanes was a gifted teacher, a spirited volunteer, and a civic leader, while she was raising a family of four remarkable children: three young men and a wonderful young woman who has a doctorate in literature and is in California. She also was an avid civic volunteer. Her great passion was books. She believed books would change lives. Books changed her life. They helped her win a scholarship, they got her to Oxford, and this would continue. For her, the world of books was so important, one of her advocacy areas was libraries. If you ever wanted to meet someone who believed in the power and the empowerment of libraries, it was Christine Sarbanes because she believed ideas belong to everybody. Books should be available to everybody. There should be a public institution that no matter who you are, no matter what your economic background, no matter what Zip Code you were born in, you could have access to the great books of our world. That is why she devoted herself to that and was on the board of the Enoch Pratt Library. She did a fantastic job there. In fact, her memorial service will be held at the Enoch Pratt Library in a few days. In her work, she also was a teacher. She taught at Goucher College. She taught at one of the more prominent prep schools, and she taught the classics. But in teaching the classics, we should all note that Mrs. Sarbanes was, indeed, a very classy lady. When we think about her, we will always remember her, again, for being able to light up a room while she worked so hard to light up the lives of others. She will be greatly missed by all of us. As all of you know, Senator Sarbanes and I shared a very special relationship in the Senate, but that relationship was also shared in the Maryland community with Mrs. Sarbanes. Mrs. Sarbanes was there for everybody, and everybody in Maryland mourns for her. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah. Mr. HATCH. Madam President, when I came to the Senate in 1977, Paul Sarbanes was a colleague who came with me. There is no doubt that this was one of the true sages of the Senate. He was a great man, a brave man, with a tremendous ability, who served with distinction in this body. One of the reasons Paul was so successful in life, not that he couldn't have done it alone, but I think he couldn't have done it as well had it not been for the beautiful and wonderful wife he had. She was a tremendous human being. I am very moved by her death. All of us feel grief and concern for Senator Sarbanes. Theirs was a close relationship, one that was exemplary to all of us. She was a great supporter of his as he served in the Senate. I used to kid Paul all the time: Paul, when are you going to smile? When are you going to laugh? He was always so serious. I used to dig him all the time about that. He would get a wry grin on his face. He knew what I was talking about. But he was serious, and so was his wife. She was a great human being. I personally express my condolences to Paul and his family because I know how close they were. I know how much she meant to him and vice versa. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip. Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, one of the real honors of serving in the Senate is meeting some extraordinary people. I was asked several years ago: Of all the Senators with whom you serve, can you name one you look up to time and again? At the time, I said it was Paul Sarbanes of Maryland. I liked Paul so much and respected him so much. He made such a contribution, not just for his State of Maryland but for the Nation during his time of public service. My good fortune was not only to get to know Paul but also to meet and get to know his wife Christine. What an extraordinary woman. She was a gifted, thoughtful, articulate person whose background and interest was in the classics. She would lose me in a hurry when we got into a conversation, as we did once or twice, about her area of interest. I can recall traveling once from London Heathrow back to the United States, picking up a book along the way that was titled ``Rubicon,'' a story on the Roman Empire. I sent it to her, as if she needed my advice or background in that subject. She wrote me the nicest note afterwards thanking me for it. She was a real lady and a great complement to Paul. The two of them worked so well together representing the State of Maryland and showing what a couple could do together working in public service. I was so saddened to learn yesterday that Christine passed away. She was such a fine person. I wanted to add my voice on the Senate floor in sympathy for the Sarbanes family and so many people across the State of Maryland who came to know and respect her over the years. ____________________