[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 17056-17057]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING DOROTHY RODHAM

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, today I rise in memory of Dorothy Howell 
Rodham, a truly extraordinary woman who died last week at the age of 
92.
  Many Americans knew Dorothy Rodham through her daughter, Secretary of 
State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who credits her mother with giving her 
the strength, self-confidence, perseverance, and faith she needed to 
thrive in politics and diplomacy.
  Millions of Americans had the opportunity to get to know Dorothy on 
the campaign trail for her son-in-law, William Jefferson Clinton, and 
her daughter Hillary. They saw a bright, sincere, and highly 
intelligent woman who was so proud of her family and would do anything 
for them.
  Some of us had known that Dorothy weathered a difficult childhood, 
but it was only with her passing that many Americans learned just how 
harrowing it was. Abandoned by her parents at age 8, she took her 3-
year-old sister on a cross-country train trip to live with their 
unwelcoming grandparents in California. By her early teens, she had to 
leave their home and begin working as a nanny.
  Dorothy worked as a secretary in Chicago before marrying Hugh Rodham

[[Page 17057]]

and raising their three children: Hillary, Hugh, and Tony. Throughout 
her life, Mrs. Rodham worked hard to ensure that her children and 
grandchildren had the opportunities she had been denied.
  Dorothy and I shared a great joy--our grandson Zachary. I saw first-
hand what a wonderful influence she was for Zach, always there for him 
in every way. She was that way for all her grandchildren, including her 
first remarkable grandchild--Chelsea.
  When Hillary Rodham Clinton was asked who inspired her to succeed in 
public life, she credited the women's movement and Dorothy Rodham, 
``who never got a chance to go to college, who had a very difficult 
childhood, but who gave me a belief that I could do whatever I set my 
mind to.''
  Dorothy Rodham was an extraordinary woman--strong, compassionate and 
loving. She will be sorely missed by her loved ones, by her friends, 
and by the American people.

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