Remembering My Friend, Howard Coble

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a dear friend of mine and an outstanding Member of this House who passed away on November 3.

Howard Coble served this House with honor, always concerned first and foremost with how the policies it enacted would affect those he served in North Carolina's Sixth Congressional District.

Howard Coble was a son of Greensboro, a Coast Guard veteran of the Korean war, a prosecutor, and a dedicated public servant. Howard believed strongly in this House and its role in our democracy.

In the 30 years we served together, we stood on opposite sides of debate far more than we were on the same side, but we had a close friendship that transcended politics or policy. Howard Coble was one of the kindest and most warm-hearted individuals I have encountered in my years of service in this Capitol.

Howard was incredibly proud of his North Carolina roots. He tried his best to make it to every parade and event in his district that he could. He was a champion of our Nation's first responders.

We served together in the Congressional Fire Services Caucus. Howard was steadfast in advocating for firefighter safety and for our Nation to meet its responsibility to those who fell in service to their communities.

On many occasions we participated together in ceremonies to honor the families of the fallen, and we met with those families as well. Howard's compassion and his devotion to these families were unparalleled.

He was also chair of the Congressional Trademark Caucus. We worked together on intellectual property issues over the years, an area critical to our economic competitiveness.

Mr. Speaker, like so many of our colleagues, I will miss Howard Coble very much.

There was a great incident that happened here on the floor of this House. In 1994 or 1993, Howard Coble came over to me. His chief of staff was a University of Maryland graduate. Howard Coble came over to me. Howard Coble was sort of a curmudgeon soul with a wonderful gravelly voice. He came over to me and said: STENY, you need to hire Debbie Yow at the University of Maryland as your athletic director.

Mr. Speaker, frankly, I didn't know what to think of this gravelly voiced, hard-nosed North Carolinian because he was not necessarily a Maryland fan himself, of course, there being four extraordinary teams in North Carolina.

I looked at Howard Coble. I didn't know Debbie Yow, but she was from North Carolina. As a matter of fact, her sister was the great coach at North Carolina State of the women's basketball team.

When I got back to my office, I called up Brit Kirwan, Mr. Speaker, who was the president of the University of Maryland at College Park at that point in time. I said: Brit, I don't know Debbie Yow, but Howard Coble believes she would be a good athletic director. If she can convince Howard Coble that one of the few women to head up an NCAA Division I athletic program would be a good athletic director, she must be really something.

We hired her just a few weeks later, and Howard Coble was right. She was extraordinary. She is now back in North Carolina.

But it was that kind of relationship I had with Howard Coble, as did so many Members on this floor. He loved the House and served it with distinction and humor. He believed that working together across party lines was in the best interest of America.

Those of us who were privileged to serve with Howard will always remember his geniality, his intellect, his abiding love of country, and, of course, his State of North Carolina. He left a lasting imprint on his community, his State, his country, and this House.

Mr. Speaker, we thank him for his lifetime of service.

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