H*4363 Resolution, By Koon, Bingham, Frye, Huggins, Knotts and Riser
 A HOUSE RESOLUTION TO EXPRESS THE SYMPATHY OF THE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF
 REPRESENTATIVES TO THE FAMILY AND MANY FRIENDS OF REPRESENTATIVE FLOYD D.
 SPENCE, OF LEXINGTON COUNTY, LONGTIME AND BELOVED CONGRESSMAN FROM THE SECOND
 CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA, WHO PASSED AWAY AUGUST 16, 2001.

   09/04/01  House  Introduced and adopted HJ-5

TO EXPRESS THE SYMPATHY OF THE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO THE FAMILY AND MANY FRIENDS OF REPRESENTATIVE FLOYD D. SPENCE, OF LEXINGTON COUNTY, LONGTIME AND BELOVED CONGRESSMAN FROM THE SECOND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA, WHO PASSED AWAY AUGUST 16, 2001.

Whereas, the members of the House of Representatives were deeply saddened at the news of the passing on August 16, 2001, of Representative Floyd D. Spence of Lexington County, the longtime and beloved congressman for the Second Congressional District of South Carolina; and

Whereas, Floyd Spence began his career in public service as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1956 through 1962, followed by a term in the South Carolina Senate from 1966 through 1970; and

Whereas, Representative Spence was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1970 and served continuously until his death, performing yeoman service as a member of the Armed Services Committee and as ranking member on the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, from 1995-1999, as Chairman of the National Security Committee, and from 1999 as senior member on the Veterans Affairs Committee; and

Whereas, his career in public service reflected his personal sense of honor, an unshakable integrity, and a commitment to the nation's armed forces and the men and women who serve in the armed forces; and

Whereas, all who knew Floyd Spence came to learn that he understood the words duty and loyalty in their larger context and in their nobler adjuration - to listen quietly, to counsel wisely, and to keep confidences; and

Whereas, in a life in mid career marked by illness, he persevered with his congressional duties and, following a successful double lung transplant, recovered his health and vigor and became one of the country's foremost and most outspoken promoters of organ donation; and

Whereas, following an outstanding academic and athletic career at the University of South Carolina, he took his law degree at USC, where among other honors he served as editor of the S.C. Law Quarterly, and in a navy career that began with active service in the Korean Conflict and continued in the Naval Reserve from which he retired with the rank of captain, he developed his lifelong interest in national defense issues that served the nation so well in his devotion to that cause during his congressional service and his special affection for the Navy and those who serve in the Navy, so that, as the old prayer asks "that they may be a safeguard unto the United States of America, and a security for such as pass on the seas upon their lawful occasions"; and

Whereas, in a career that saw him stride in corridors of power, he retained his Lexington County roots, as evidenced by his devotion to his family, his beloved late wife "Lu" Drake Spence, their four sons David, Zack, Benjamin, and Caldwell, and his widow, Debbie Williams Spence; and

Whereas, it is appropriate for the members of the House of Representatives to honor the life in public service of this most distinguished son of South Carolina. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the House of Representatives, by this resolution, express their heartfelt sympathy to the family and many friends of the late Representative Floyd D. Spence of Lexington County, longtime and beloved congressman from the Second Congressional District of South Carolina.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the family of Representative Floyd Spence.