William Helms: “I was regrettably late in learning about the inevitable death of former U.S. Senator Terry Sanford this past Saturday…”

“I was regrettably late in learning about the inevitable death of former U.S. Senator Terry Sanford this past Saturday, April 18. I say inevitable because it was. All of us, especially Terry himself, knew what was coming when last December the fatal inoperable cancer was discovered. Terry faced up to the reality of it all with his typical courage. He told reporters at the time that he would continue to be active as long as he could, and take every day as it came. Then he plunged into a whirlwind fund-raising schedule on behalf of a project near and dear to his heart. It was impossible not to like and admire Terry Sanford. He was never one of my supporters, nor was I ever one of his. But we were friends and there was never a hint of discord during his six years in the Senate--or before, for that matter, or since. As Senators who were here during Senator Sanford's six years will testify, Terry was a respected colleague. For my part, I always had the feeling that he had been vastly more comfortable being Governor. He could push a button then and things happened. Not so with the Senate. We sort of canceled each other's vote in the Senate much of the time he was here but there never was an instance when we didn't work together for the betterment of North Carolina. And there was never the slightest hostility. In short, Mr. President, I liked Terry Sanford.”