[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 10414]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1210
                      IN MEMORY OF STEVE LaFRANCE

  (Mr. COTTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COTTON. Today, I honor the memory of my constituent Steve 
LaFrance who passed away earlier this month. Steve was a pillar of the 
Pine Bluff community, and really all of Arkansas.
  A pharmacist by training, he started his business in 1968 with a 
single pharmacy in Gibson's Department Store in Pine Bluff. From that 
modest start, Steve built USA Drug over 44 years into the largest 
privately owned chain of drugstores in the country.
  Steve's motto, like my own dad's, was ``do the right thing.'' It was 
the foundation of his success. All who knew him and all who worked with 
Steve, whether employees, customers, vendors, and even competitors, 
respected not only his business acumen, but especially his sense of 
fair play, passion, and loyalty.
  Even more than a businessman, though, Steve was a devoted family man, 
proud father of four children, seven grandkids, and the loving husband 
of Linda, his wife of 44 years. He was also a deeply faithful Christian 
man who walked in the path of the Lord and now walks with Him.
  On behalf of all Arkansans and the United States Congress, I wish to 
express my deepest condolences to him. Like you, we all miss ``Big 
Steve,'' and we were all enriched by having our lives touched by him.

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