Claiborne Pell: “with great personal sadness, I rise to honor the memory of an outstanding woman, a champion of medical research, and a…”

“with great personal sadness, I rise to honor the memory of an outstanding woman, a champion of medical research, and a friend. Mary Lasker, who died Monday at the age of 93, was a person of deep commitment, intelligence, and compassion. She devoted her adult life to bettering the world in a myriad of ways, ranging from preventing disease to promoting beauty. Mary Lasker's influence on the life of this Nation began very early. A graduate of Radcliffe College, she never forgot a childhood filled with illness and the early loss of her parents to disease. She developed a passion for promoting medical research, and she had far more than concern and passion to devote to her cause. Mary had a clear, levelheaded way of thinking, and knew how to approach people--including Senators and Presidents. Her advice was invaluable, her encouragement undaunting, and her followthrough impeccable. If Mary said she wanted to work on funding a particular project, she simply did not give up until it happened. Her winning attitude and genuinely noble goals were only part of what made Mary so effective. Mary had the good fortune of being able to lend financial support to her dreams, and did so with a generosity that is rare and unstinting. Perhaps the single most important thing that Mary did was to make the Nation--and the world--confront the existence and the reality of cancer.”