On the recordSeptember 10, 2012
this is a poignant eulogy of many of the accomplishments of one of my best and personal friends, Otis Brumby, Jr. I could read all of his accomplishments if I wanted to. There are times we are called on to offer eulogies on the floor of the Senate because we have to or because it is appropriate. There are times we give eulogies for great past leaders of our State, but on rare occasions, such as the one I have today, we do it for someone for whom we have tremendous respect, love, and compassion. To Otis Brumby, Jr.'s wife Martha Lee, his daughters Anna, Betsy, Lee, Spain, his son-in-law Heath, and his son Otis Brumby III, my love and compassion goes out to each of them during their tragedy. Wednesday morning I will return to Marietta, GA, to be part of the memorial service to honor Otis Brumby. I thought it would be better to talk about the Otis Brumby I knew rather than the one the papers are writing about. To me he was the epitome of a journalist, a father, a friend, and a husband. Otis Brumby, Jr. got his start in some ways on the floor of the U.S. Senate because in the late 1950s his father arranged for him to page for Richard B. Russell, who, as all of us know, was really the master of the Senate before Lyndon Johnson when he was leader, later Vice President, and finally President. Otis Brumby learned a lot in this Chamber and on this floor.…
