[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 13643-13644]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING SARAH ANDERSON

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, it is with great sadness that I ask 
my colleagues to join me in honoring the extraordinary life of Sarah 
Anderson, a beloved mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, colleague, 
and passionate advocate for improving the health and lives of people 
throughout our country. Sarah passed away on July 28, 2015, at the age 
of 49.
  I met Sarah when she came to work on my first campaign for the U.S. 
Senate. At the time, this impressive young Fort Collins, CO native was 
just a few years into her political career, having moved to Washington, 
DC, to work for Senator Tim Wirth right after graduating from the 
University of Colorado.
  Sarah was passionate about helping to elect women, and she wanted to 
be part of what turned out to be an historic 1992 election. With her 
wit, intelligence, talent, dedication, sense of humor, and ever-present 
twinkle in her piercing blue eyes, it was immediately clear to all of 
us that Sarah was special.
  However, one young campaign staff member named Matt Kagan seemed to 
notice all of Sarah's unique gifts even more than anyone else. While 
working 20-hour days on our campaign, Sarah and Matt somehow managed to 
find time to fall in love. At the time, I would sometimes joke that 
while I was falling in the polls, they were falling in love. But the 
truth is, Matt and Sarah's beautiful marriage and son were among the 
most important results of that first campaign. Sarah and Matt always 
shared a fierce commitment to making the world a better place.
  For more than 25 years, Sarah worked tirelessly for the causes she 
believed in--whether it was protecting the environment at the Sierra 
Club and the League of Conservation Voters; serving the people of 
Oregon and California as press secretary to Congresswoman Elizabeth 
Furse and Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez; or helping to prevent and stop 
pandemics as an Assistant Dean at UCLA's School of Public Health for 
nearly a decade.
  Sarah and Matt always managed to fill their homes--first in DC and 
then in California--with love, laughter, good conversation, and great 
food. But their most important addition happened 10 years ago when they 
joyfully welcomed their son, Spencer, into their lives. Whenever 
Spencer's name was mentioned, Sarah's face always lit up with

[[Page 13644]]

such pride and love, and there are no words to express how sorry I am 
for Spencer and Matt's loss. I also want to extend my deepest 
condolences to Sarah's entire family, especially her mother and 
stepfather, Sue and Ed Sparling; her sister, Jennifer Enright; and 
stepbrothers, Erik and Bret Sparling.
  Sarah, Matt, and Spencer will always be part of our extended family 
of Boxer staff members, all of whom join me today in mourning Sarah's 
loss and celebrating her amazing legacy, which will always live on in 
the causes she championed, the friendships she forged, and the family 
she loved and lived for.

                          ____________________