-9999

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. LUMMIS. Thank you, Senator Barrasso, for those lovely remarks. We both loved Al Simpson, and we will always love Al Simpson.

Today, we join the entire State of Wyoming, his family, and his close friends in celebrating his life and mourning the passing of U.S. Senator Al Simpson.

He was absolutely larger than life and always will be a beloved statesman. He dedicated his entire life to serving others, his entire life of 93 years--for 18 years here in the U.S. Senate, 12 years in the Wyoming House of Representatives, and 28 years as a very active elder statesman, particularly in his efforts to help and serve our beloved alma mater, the University of Wyoming.

He tirelessly advocated for the State of Wyoming, fighting to ensure that every corner of our State was not only a great place to work but a great place to make a home and raise a family. Indeed, he contributed to that as well with his children and grandchildren and his beloved, beautiful Ann Simpson.

My gosh, I saw a picture in the hallway in their home of Ann Simpson when she was in college. She was an absolute knockout. They became the inseparable, dynamic duo of Wyoming--she playing the straight woman to his hilarious antics that everyone so loved.

There was no stronger advocate for the needs, industries, and interests of Wyoming than Senator Al Simpson.

As Senator Barrasso mentioned, during his U.S. Senate tenure, he was repeatedly chosen by his colleagues to serve in leadership as the Republican whip and was a close friend and ally of both Presidents Reagan and George H. W. Bush.

Those who met Senator Al Simpson knew he never forgot a face or an interaction, good or bad, and he was happy to remind you of either. Those who were privileged enough to call him friend enjoyed his fierce loyalty, truly fierce loyalty--the kind we all hope we might have with someone in our lives.

His famous sense of humor--I once went to a reception here in Washington, DC, at a beautiful home, and we walked in, and there was a fireplace in the hallway with an original Pissarro hanging over the fireplace, and he goes: Oh, look, Cynthia, it is a ``piss-a-roo.'' That was classic Al Simpson. Al was well known around the Capitol for his pithy one-liners.

Families in Cody looked forward to spotting him towering--he was a very tall man, maybe 6 feet 7 inches or so, and he would tower above the trick-or-treaters--in his costume, by the way, of Frankenstein. He called himself Frankenal. He would imitate the monster, which he also had perfected over the years.

Al loved life. He loved public service. He loved the State of Wyoming and, particularly, the University of Wyoming.

My gosh, he was so good to the law school, to the trial advocacy clinics. There was just nothing he wouldn't do to help the University of Wyoming excel as an institution.

But he never missed an opportunity to praise his beloved Ann, his children, his grandchildren. I was in law school with both Colin and Bill Simpson. The legacy of that family for the practice of law in Wyoming and elsewhere in the country is truly significant, in addition to the many other legislative victories and policy wins and the fabulous museum, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, in Wyoming, which is truly a world-class--world-class--institution, in large part because of Ann and Al's complete dedication to it.

Last year, Ann and Al celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. How did they celebrate it? They held an ice cream social at Cody City Park with family, friends, and neighbors. That was the Simpson way of doing things. At every gathering Al Simpson attended, people flocked to him-- and I mean flocked--for a moment with a man each considered one of their closest friends. That is the effect that he had on people. That is the incredible aura that was part of Al Simpson. He truly was a proud son of Cody, WY.

Coming from an early pioneer family, Al never forgot his ancestors and the people who came before him. Senator Barrasso just mentioned that his father Milward was also a noted Wyoming character; and that trait continues on in the entire family.

He never forgot his goals, which were to spread integrity, humor, service, and to make sure that the Wyoming he left, the country he left, would be better for the next generation. And I can tell you, he accomplished that. He is one of those people you can look to and say: He did that in his life.

Al's family were his pride and joy, and he was our pride and joy as a beloved son of Wyoming, a great mentor, a fabulous human being, someone in your life that if you met Al Simpson, it was something you would say: What was one of my great joys in life? And one would certainly be: I knew Al Simpson.

So I ask you all to join us in celebrating the tremendous, extraordinary, curious life of U.S. Senator Al Simpson.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source