Cord Byrd: “on Wednesday, the day before yesterday, I went with a delegation to the State of Rhode Island for the funeral of our…”

“on Wednesday, the day before yesterday, I went with a delegation to the State of Rhode Island for the funeral of our former colleague, John O. Pastore. I was accompanied by Senators Jack Reed and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry of Massachusetts, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, and Joseph Biden of Delaware. Former Senators Claiborne Pell and Harris Wofford were also present. The Catholic Mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception was uplifting. John Pastore, Jr., and grandson, Gregory, spoke warmly of our former colleague. Senator Ted Kennedy was especially eloquent in his remembrance of Senator Pastore. It was obvious that this man was much beloved by his family and community. Mr. President, I can recollect John Pastore's departing speech from the Senate. There he remarked that he had wanted to be a physician, but that his father had died when he was nine, and he had to help raise his four brothers and sisters and support his mother, who worked as a seamstress. How proud he must have been of his son, John, Jr., a Notre Dame graduate, a physician and cardiologist. So the son became what the father--John O. Pastore, the Senator--had wanted to be. Instead of being a physician, Senator Pastore studied law at night at Boston's Northeastern University, eventually graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree. This is an effort I can especially appreciate.”