James Traficant: “One of the great friends of the House and a loyal servant to the House, Charles Gustafson, the former chief reporter of…”

“One of the great friends of the House and a loyal servant to the House, Charles Gustafson, the former chief reporter of debates for this House, passed away June 1 in Annandale, VA. Many of us remember Gus sitting down here at the well. He was just a beautiful guy. At age 74 he passed away of emphysema. Gus had joined the debate reporting staff in 1973, and retired in June 1995. At his retirement, Members will recall Gus was the last of the breed, the last of the pen shorthand writers to work in our well. Gus was born in West Parksville, NY. He graduated from high school at the age of 15. He then studied shorthand court reporting at Gregg College in Chicago, and worked as a court reporter in Cleveland. During World War II, Gus served his country and the Navy aboard the battleship New Jersey, where he performed reporter services for court-martial activities. After the war Gus returned to Cleveland as a court reporter. Before moving to Washington and joining the staff here, he was a court reporter at the Mahoning County Court in Youngstown, OH, my hometown. Then Gus operated a freelance reporting office of his own in Youngstown, OH. Survivors include his beautiful wife, Betsy, of Annandale, whom he married in 1946, and his two sons, Charles B. Gustafson of Annandale and Richard G. Gustafson of Seattle, and two grandchildren.”