[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 619]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            TRIBUTE TO FORMER CONGRESSMAN WILLIAM RATCHFORD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Murphy) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise, as did other Members 
of the Connecticut delegation, to pay tribute to a great man who served 
the State of Connecticut and his community of Danbury in a variety of 
ways, Bill Ratchford.
  Bill Ratchford passed away recently, and the entire State of 
Connecticut is mourning; but, in particular, my district is mourning. 
Though Connecticut's districts have been reconfigured over the years, 
we both share a love and affinity for Bill Ratchford's hometown of 
Danbury that he represented in the United States Congress and I have 
the great fortune of representing.
  Bill grew up in Danbury. He was a child of the Depression. His father 
worked in one of the great hat factories in Danbury, Connecticut. His 
mother was a school teacher. And they instilled in Bill the value of 
what truly matters in life: a good education, a love for his family, 
and a love for his country.
  Shortly after I was sworn into office, Bill came to see me, to share 
with me some of his thoughts about what was important about being in 
this place.

                              {time}  1010

  Though he cared so passionately about issues, as Representative 
Courtney and Representative DeLauro mentioned, his passion especially 
for issues related to aging, the fact that he became, later on, the 
State's first commissioner on aging, what he cared maybe most about was 
the discourse in this place. Bill was a gentleman first, second, and 
third. He represented everything that people wanted government to be.
  That's what we talked about when he came into my office that day, how 
you needed to fight for what you cared about in this place but do it in 
a respectful way. And I join with Representative Courtney in reminding 
everyone here that there are certain giants of this place that we can 
look to in trying to reorder the way in which we have conversations, 
and Bill Ratchford certainly was at the top of that list.
  His commitment to public service built a legacy that in Danbury and 
throughout Connecticut we will remember for a long time. He will be 
terribly missed. My thoughts and prayers and those of everyone in the 
Danbury area are with Barbara and his family at this time.
  I yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).
  Mr. HOYER. I thank Congressman Murphy for yielding, and I want to 
join him in the remarks that he has made.
  I had the opportunity to attend a memorial service and speak at a 
memorial service for my friend, Bill Ratchford.
  Bill and I first met in the early 1970s. Bill had been speaker of the 
Connecticut House and was serving as president of the National 
Conference of State Legislatures. I was about to be president of the 
Maryland Senate, and another former Member, Martin Sabo, was the 
speaker of the Minnesota House. The three of us became very good 
friends.
  Later in the week, the next week, we lost an extraordinary American, 
Sargent Shriver. I had the opportunity to speak at his wake last Friday 
night.
  The reason I mentioned Sarge Shriver, Bill Ratchford and Sarge 
Shriver were both extraordinary public servants who believed that 
service to others was their most important role in life in terms of 
their public service. Now, privately, they were both also 
representatives of extraordinary family leaders, revered by their 
families. And his sons, Bill Ratchford's sons, and Sarge's sons spoke 
at their memorial services. Shaun, Scott, and Brian spoke movingly of a 
father who was fully engaged and adored by his sons. Of course his 
wife, Barbara, a very close friend of mine for some 40 years, as was 
Bill, was revered as a mother.
  So these two families, two extraordinary leaders that we have lost 
recently, represented the best in America.
  Bill Ratchford was my friend. Bill Ratchford brought honor on this 
institution by his service. Bill and I had the opportunity to serve on 
the Appropriations Committee together, which was arguably, at that 
point in time, the most bipartisan committee in the Congress of the 
United States. I am not sure that's still true, but it certainly was 
then. Bill Ratchford was respected on both sides of the aisle for his 
decency, his intellect, and his commitment to making America a better 
country.
  I am pleased to join my friend Chris Murphy, who has been such a 
giant himself at a young age, but at an age when Bill Ratchford was 
becoming a major leader in their country.
  I thank Bill Ratchford and his family for what they have contributed 
to this country. We lament his loss, but we celebrate his life, which 
was an extraordinary life well lived and a blessing to all who knew him 
and to his country.

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