[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 13885]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING BETTY DEWHIRST RUSSELL

  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in honor of a friend, 
a fellow congregant--Betty Dewhirst Russell--someone I have known for a 
long time and someone I knew as a member of my home church, First and 
Central Presbyterian in Wilmington, DE.
  Earlier today, Betty passed away. I am so honored to have an 
opportunity on the floor of the Senate to briefly recognize her for her 
remarkable service to the United States and for her great and soaring 
spirit.
  Betty was a young midwestern girl when she ventured to St. Louis, MO, 
in 1940, to begin her schooling as a nurse. Upon graduation, she 
volunteered for service in the U.S. Army. Betty was posted to Longview, 
TX, for basic training. While in Longview, she would meet her future 
husband, Lloyd Byron Russell, known as Russ, of Wilmington, DE.
  Betty served her country as a first lieutenant in the Army Nurse 
Corps from April 1943 until January 1946 through the 70th General 
Hospital. Betty served alongside her uncle, Chief Surgeon Colonel L.D. 
Cassidy. In something that she recounted to me a number of times once I 
was elected to this body, Betty, during the Second World War and as 
part of the 70th General Hospital, cared for hundreds and hundreds of 
American soldiers, among them two who returned home to serve in this 
body as Senators--Bob Dole of Kansas and Daniel Inouye of Hawaii.
  Betty received a battle star as the 70th General Hospital was awarded 
the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon. Betty was, 
understandably, proud of her service, saving so many American lives. 
One cherished memory that Betty shared with her family was that when 
she was caring for one particularly badly wounded GI, his last request 
was to hold close an American flag--a big one, he said. She went to the 
Red Cross, and they gave her a big American flag. She spread it over 
his body. He put his arms around it, smiled, and took his last breath.
  Betty and Russ were married in Oran, Algeria. Being military and 
married in a foreign country required cutting through a lot of redtape. 
They were eventually married twice--once by the French Government and 
once by the U.S. Army. Betty and Russ returned to live in our hometown 
of Wilmington, DE, and eventually settled in Hockessin. They were 
married for 53 years before Russ passed in 1998.
  Betty and Russ's four children were born and raised in Delaware. She 
served her community faithfully, by helping to establish the Hockessin 
Well Baby Clinic, by serving as a Cub Scouts den mother, as a volunteer 
at the junior board of Memorial Hospital, at the Wilmington Flower 
Market for over 50 years, and as a charter member of the Hockessin 
Community Club. Betty was also a longtime board member of the Lamborn 
Library and of the Friends of the Hockessin Library in Hockessin and a 
faithful member of First and Central Presbyterian Church for 70 years.
  Betty has lived a full and wonderful life--full of dedicated service 
to her faith, her family, and her country. She always saw the best in 
others, and she always had a hopeful attitude about the day that lay 
ahead. So I am grateful for having had the opportunity to know Betty 
for just a few years in our wonderful home State. I am so grateful for 
the career and the life of service that Betty Russell gave as a gift to 
all of us in Delaware and in this grateful Nation.
  Thank you.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to engage in a 
colloquy with Senator Carper for up to 30 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________