[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15634-15635]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING JANICE SHELTON

  Mr. REID. Madam President, at about a quarter to eleven this morning, 
one of my friends passed away. Her name was Janice Shelton. She was a 
fixture in the Senate. She worked in the Senate for more than three 
decades, but the reason I feel so bad this afternoon is that Janice 
worked for me. Janice Shelton worked for me for 25 years. She was such 
a good person. She ran my office, and that is an understatement.
  Janice was born in Virginia, in Warrenton. She graduated from Mt. 
Vernon High School in Alexandria and attended Northern Virginia 
Community College. She was married to Robert Shelton for 61 years. They 
have two daughters, Robin LeCroy and Laurie Nelson. They have eight 
grandchildren in total, two of whom I know well. Shelton Nelson worked 
for me. Well, I shouldn't say he worked for me. I got to know him very 
well. I read the papers every Sunday to find out how his football team 
had done. He was a huge offensive lineman. He weighed more than 300 
pounds, all solid muscle. His brother Chris, who is 6 foot 4, was a 
stunningly good baseball pitcher, also at the college level. Rebecca 
and Holly worked in the Senate as Senate pages. And they have four 
great-grandchildren.
  Janice started her career working with the Department of the Army. 
She worked in the Carter White House in the Office of Domestic Policy. 
She worked in the Reagan White House. She then moved to the Senate in 
1981, working as an executive assistant. She worked for Paula Hawkins 
of Florida for 6 years and worked for Senator Mikulski for 1 year and 
then worked for me for 25 years. She left maybe less than 3 years ago 
and moved to North Carolina to be near her two daughters, one of whom 
now lives in Atlanta.
  Janice spent her professional career creating order where chaos could 
easily have been. In my office everyone knew Janice Shelton. She ran 
that place so well and was so polite, yet so firm, in what she would 
allow to happen and not happen. There was no bad language. She had a 
little cup, and if people used bad language, they had to put money in 
it. She was so gracious and so kind, and she had unbelievable energy. 
It didn't matter what the job was, big or small, Janice could handle 
that job. She was a stenographer, but she was a person who could handle 
the most difficult administrative situation, and she was a woman of 
tremendous faith.
  Janice had a love affair with her husband Bobby for a long time. I 
remember Bobby, with that southern accent of his. When Bobby was still 
in business around here, he would bother his morning breakfast crowd by 
wearing
T-shirts of mine. He ran with a kind of conservative crowd, and my T-
shirt didn't fit in very well all the time. But she and Bobby were so 
loyal to me.
  Janice was good to my family. She knew every one of my children and 
knew my grandchildren. She suffered with the bad times that we had. I 
remember I was heavily involved in the final stages of the Obama health 
care bill when she walked into my office and said: I have to talk to 
you. She told me my wife had been in a very bad automobile accident. 
She, of course, was available anytime she was needed to help Landra or 
me with things--those personal things you can't have just anyone help 
you with; it had to be somebody like Janice.
  Janice's desk was right outside my office door. She was a fixture 
there. She was there all the time that I was. Whatever my hours were in 
the Senate, those were her hours. And I mean that without anything 
other than the truth.

[[Page 15635]]

If I was there until 10 o'clock, she was there until 10 o'clock. Often, 
after I would go home at night, I would call back and say: Janice, why 
are you still there? And she would say: Well, I still have a few things 
to do.
  I have missed Janice now for almost 3 years. I talked to her as often 
as I could. I am going to truly miss her now. She will leave a 
tremendous void in my heart. I am going to call my kids later today--I 
haven't done it yet because I haven't had time for anything--and tell 
them about Janice's passing.
  I wish words could convey to everyone within the sound of my voice 
what a wonderful human being Janice Shelton was. I will miss her. The 
impact she has made in my life and my wife's life will be there 
forever.
  Two of my staff came into my office separately and broke down in 
tears about Janice no longer being with us. She created such loyalty, 
such admiration for her hard work and professionalism. I love Janice 
Shelton and always will.

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