Cord Byrd: “I was saddened to learn that Don C. Womack, who served as superintendent of the U.S. Senate Press Gallery from 1973 to…”

“I was saddened to learn that Don C. Womack, who served as superintendent of the U.S. Senate Press Gallery from 1973 to 1981, died of cancer Thursday morning at his home in Arlington at the age of 87. Don was born in Danville, Virginia August 22, 1910. He moved to the Washington Area in 1935, and attended the Corcoran School of Art and George Washington University. He managed a string of movie theaters in Northern Virginia before taking a job as staff assistant in the House of Representatives Periodical Press Gallery in 1948, beginning a 33-year career as a press liaison on Capitol Hill. Don began working in the Senate Press Gallery in 1951. He briefly left to serve as superintendent of the House Periodical Gallery in 1954 and 1955, then returned to the Senate to be deputy superintendent, and continued in that capacity until his promotion in 1973. Don became superintendent of the Senate gallery during a tumultuous time--the beginning of the Watergate hearings. He weathered the storm, and received a commendation from the Standing Committee of Correspondents, the governing body of the Congressional press galleries, for his handling of the hearings. During his tenure as superintendent, Don presided over press coverage of the Senate during such major events as the end of the Vietnam War, the Panama Canal Treaties debates, and the ABSCAM hearings.”