Rockefeller Honors Mrs. Erma Ora Byrd with Congressional Statement

Statement

-Calls Her a "Constant Source of Support" for Senator Byrd-

Following the loss of Mrs. Erma Ora Byrd, the wife of West Virginia's senior senator Robert C. Byrd, over the weekend, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) honored Mrs. Byrd's life last night with the following Senate statement. With Senator Rockefeller recuperating from recent back surgery, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), at Senator Rockefeller's request, read the statement.

"My dear friend and revered colleague of more than two decades has suffered a grievous loss, and I ask my colleagues to join Sharon and me in mourning the passage of Erma Ora Byrd, the wife and soul mate of West Virginia Senator, Robert C. Byrd.

"Before Robert Byrd was a Senator, before he was an attorney, before the West Virginia Legislature named him the West Virginian of the 20th Century, Erma recognized something extraordinary in this son of the Winding Gulf coalfields. What we see today, she saw then in the gas station attendant and welder and butcher's apprentice who became her husband. Those of us who had the privilege of knowing Erma, also know that this was hardly the last time her vision proved extraordinary. Throughout her life, her intelligence and common sense made her a close partner to one of America's most influential men. As Senator Byrd once said: ``She is not only my wife, but also my best counselor.''

"Yet, as sharp as Erma was in finding her husband, Senator Byrd was equally astute. Not only was Erma a wise counselor, but she was also a constant source of support. A proud coal miner's daughter from Stotesbury, West Virginia, she gave unhesitatingly and without reserve. She was the support system that got him from Capitol Hill to law school at the end of a hard day, and to the many meetings and appearances his job required. Always the model of grace and dignity, she was an extraordinary mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She made Robert C. Byrd a better father, a better Senator, and a better man. In many ways, Erma Byrd was the quintessential West Virginia woman, teaching her family to work hard and care deeply, all the while giving unceasingly to those around her.

"Their marriage was not some practical partnership -- it was a love-match. After nearly 69 years of marriage, Senator Byrd still radiated, in the words of John Cheever, the deep and indisguisable joy of someone who has just fallen in love. Together, they shared the triumphs and setbacks of political life, always celebrating not elective office but the opportunity to help people in their home state, for which they cared so deeply.

"Together, they knew tragedy as well, with the devastating and untimely death of a beloved grandson. For a time, Senator Byrd even gave up playing his fiddle as the music became too much to bear. But they found solace in each other, in family, and in their truly extraordinary faith in God.

"During one of my last visits with Erma, I was sitting on my couch being charmed, as everyone always was, by her warmth and wit as we talked about everything in the world except the United States Senate. She was a welcome reminder that life existed outside our work and that delight was best discovered in mountain flowers and close family and old friends.

"Just a few weeks ago at my home, Senator Byrd spoke lovingly and movingly about what we now know to be Erma's final days. Even as Erma's mind and body failed her, he felt profoundly that their hearts are forever linked and their souls will recognize each other always. You could see that as she suffered, he suffered, as she endured, he endured.

"All the while Senator Byrd maintained a daunting Senate schedule, as she had wanted him to do, and every evening he returned home to his one true love.

"As Erma's hardship is over now and she is in the loving arms of the Lord, Senator Byrd will have the complete support of West Virginia and his Senate family as he bears the new hardship of this loss, but with the added grace of Mrs. Byrd watching over him.

"The circle has been broken. But we take strength from the sure knowledge that, in years to come, a better home awaits all of us, and for Senator Byrd his life will be complete again."

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