On the recordJanuary 25, 2011
I rise, as did other Members of the Connecticut delegation, to pay tribute to a great man who served the State of Connecticut and his community of Danbury in a variety of ways, Bill Ratchford. Bill Ratchford passed away recently, and the entire State of Connecticut is mourning; but, in particular, my district is mourning. Though Connecticut's districts have been reconfigured over the years, we both share a love and affinity for Bill Ratchford's hometown of Danbury that he represented in the United States Congress and I have the great fortune of representing. Bill grew up in Danbury. He was a child of the Depression. His father worked in one of the great hat factories in Danbury, Connecticut. His mother was a school teacher. And they instilled in Bill the value of what truly matters in life: a good education, a love for his family, and a love for his country. Shortly after I was sworn into office, Bill came to see me, to share with me some of his thoughts about what was important about being in this place. Though he cared so passionately about issues, as Representative Courtney and Representative DeLauro mentioned, his passion especially for issues related to aging, the fact that he became, later on, the State's first commissioner on aging, what he cared maybe most about was the discourse in this place. Bill was a gentleman first, second, and third. He represented everything that people wanted government to be.
