William F. Smith: “it is with a mixture of sadness and food remembrances that I stand before you to mourn the passing of former Congressman…”

“it is with a mixture of sadness and food remembrances that I stand before you to mourn the passing of former Congressman Harry B. Gonzalez, a man who served in this House for 18 terms. On Saturday, I attended Congressman Gonzalez's funeral service in his beloved San Antonio and saw an extraordinary and sincere outpouring of gratitude from the city he served with devotion, honesty and integrity. He served San Antonio not only as a United States Representative, but also as a member of the San Antonio City Council and the Texas Senate. Congressman Gonzalez, known with affection in our hometown as ``Henry B.'' was eulogized by San Antonio Archbishop Patrick Flores quite simply as a ``good and faithful servant.'' He was--consistently and persistently--a good and faithful servant to his beloved constituents in the 20th District of Texas. Henry B. was also a staunch partisan and a worthy adversary. He was a man whose life was marked by devotion to family, to community, and to public service. It was an honor--and on occasion a learning experience--to serve with him in the Bexar County congressional delegation. In Texas there is a saying, attributed to a Texas Ranger of long ago, that advises that ``No man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow that's in the right and keeps on a-comin'.'' Throughout his extraordinary life of public service, Henry B just kept on a-comin'.”