David Price: “I thank my colleague for yielding and for calling this Special Order to pay tribute to our departed friend and…”

“I thank my colleague for yielding and for calling this Special Order to pay tribute to our departed friend and colleague, Walter Jones, Jr. Walter died on February 10, his 76th birthday. He lived a full life of service: four years in the National Guard, ten years in the North Carolina General Assembly, and nearly a quarter century in this U.S. House of Representatives. Walter and I met long before either of us served in the House. We worked together on the Jimmy Carter Presidential campaign of 1976. I have a photo on my desk of a very youthful-looking group of campaign workers to prove that. Walter, of course, went on to chart a different course politically, a course that was uniquely his own. In fact, he found himself frequently at odds with, if not one party, then the other, but by the same token, he sometimes found possibilities for alliances and cooperation in unexpected places, and he didn't hesitate to take those opportunities. Madam Speaker, tonight we are going to hear from a wide range of colleagues, an amazingly diverse group of colleagues that reflects the friendships that Walter had in this Chamber. That was also reflected in the delegation that went to Greenville for Walter's funeral service on February 14. He was an independent man and he just had friends all over the place. Now, that independence was rooted in Walter's strong convictions and his personal sincerity. He actually, I think we would all agree, stood out.…”