Steve Rothman: “this morning I wish to join with my colleagues in mourning the loss of our friend, Congressman Walter Capps. First of…”

“this morning I wish to join with my colleagues in mourning the loss of our friend, Congressman Walter Capps. First of all, allow me to extend my heartfelt condolences to his wife Lois, and his children. My thoughts and prayers are with you in this time of loss. Walter Capps lived a rich and vigorous life, serving his community in several different capacities. As a young man in Omaha, NE, he learned the value of a hard day's work with Union Pacific Railroad and by delivering newspapers and painting houses. As a professor of religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, he emerged as a national leader in the study of peace and conflict studies, veterans affairs, and American democracy. And while at UCSB, he also developed one of the first college curriculums on the history, experience, and ramifications of the Vietnam war. Furthermore, he was very active with community service organizations in the Santa Barbara area and in his own Lutheran church. Walter epitomized the type of individual we all strive to be, not only as Members of Congress, but as human beings. In a time where petty partisan wrangling has engulfed this body and prevented us from doing the people's work, Walter Capps exuded a sense of humility, compassion, empathy, and inner peace that we all should endeavor to attain.”