February 13, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 28 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page S1323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING BILL BURGESS

 Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I am here to speak today with a 
heavy heart from the sudden and untimely passing of my dear friend and 
confidant, Bill Burgess of Lawton, OK.
  Bill spent his entire life in service to Oklahoma and the Nation, and 
his loss will be felt throughout the State.
  Bill was a talented attorney, businessman, and civic leader. Among 
many different titles Bill held throughout his career, he served the 
State he loved on the Oklahoma Board of Regents for Higher Education 
and the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents.
  Bill was widely recognized and respected as one of Oklahoma's 
outstanding leaders, and he was inducted into both the Oklahoma Hall of 
Fame and the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame.
  As a businessman who developed the largest software engineering 
company in Oklahoma and the owner and publisher of the Lawton 
Constitution, Bill was admired for his entrepreneurial ability and 
success. A tireless advocate for Oklahoma business, he served stints as 
chairman of both the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce and the 
Oklahoma Business Roundtable.
  I worked closely with Bill in his role as civilian aide to the 
Secretary to the Army and am so thankful to have a man of such 
integrity, character, and grit in this position.
  If you spent any time at all around Bill, you were sure to know that 
he was the son of a sergeant major, the ``backbone of the Army.'' 
Friends say that growing up in the house of a non-commissioned officer 
gave him a love not only for the Army but also for the enlisted men and 
women who serve their country.
  Bill was incredibly proud of his dad's service to our Nation and 
continued that tradition of service. No one loved, admired, and 
supported our men and women in uniform more than Bill.
  Kay and I are praying for Bill's family, friends, and many loved ones 
in this extremely hard time. Bill was an exceptional leader, a loving 
father, and an incomparable friend.
  I am blessed to have known him, and he will be sorely missed by 
myself and the rest of Oklahoma.

                          ____________________