[Extensions of Remarks]
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From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

HONORING MARTHA DODD BUONANNO'S LIFE

______

HON. NANCY PELOSI

of california

in the house of representatives

Friday, July 31, 2009

Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a beloved
friend of mine and many in this body, Martha Dodd Buonanno.
Martha Buonanno would best like to be remembered as a mother,
grandmother, and wife. She died after a brief illness on July 6, 2009.
Her five children, Helena, Bernard, Carolyn, Jody, and Margaret, and 17
grandchildren surrounded their father Bernard Buonanno crying and
laughing as they celebrated the life of this remarkable woman.
Her love of family and children led her to volunteer for many worthy
organizations in Rhode Island. She was a mentor in Providence public
schools with the VIPS program; she served on the boards of the
Providence Preservation Society and the RI Association of the Blind.
She was proud to chair the research center at the University of
Connecticut that had been named in honor of her father: Thomas J. Dodd.
Martha and I became friends more than 50 years ago at Trinity College
in Washington, DC. We shared in common that we both came from political
families--in fact, when we first met, both of our fathers were running
for Senate.
But our friendship grew over many years because we had so much more
in common: Martha loved to travel, she loved to laugh, and always,
Martha loved Democratic politics. In fact, Martha volunteered on every
single one of her brother, Senator Christopher Dodd's, campaigns. She
adored all her siblings: Chris, Tom, Carolyn, Jeremy, Nick.
Martha Dodd Buonanno had a strong connection to this House, where her
father and her brother served. She lived and raised her family in
Providence and was admired by our colleagues Patrick Kennedy and Jim
Langevin, and Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse. Her roots were
in Connecticut and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro and Congressmen John
Larson, Joe Courtney, and Chris Murphy join me in expressing
condolences to the Buonanno and Dodd families.
It is a fitting tribute to Martha's life that more than 3,000 people
attended her wake, lining the streets for more than seven hours. Her
funeral mass was moved from her parish to another simply to be able to
accommodate everyone. Those who came to pay their last respects to
Martha included Vice President Biden, United States Senators, and a
Governor; but Martha would have been equally proud to know that
children that she tutored, neighbors from her block, and friends from
growing up joined that day. As I know well, when Martha made a friend,
she stayed friends with them forever.
Although Martha was always a sparkling personality, she became even
more so when she met Bernie. Their love, and their children and
grandchildren, are her lasting legacy.
I hope it is a consolation to her family that all of her classmates
at Trinity College loved her for more than 50 years, and will miss her.
I am honored to place in the Record the extraordinary eulogy of her
beloved brother, Senator Chris Dodd, which captures her spirit and
honors her life.

A Tribute to my Fabulous Sister Martha

(By Christopher J. Dodd)

Before sharing some brief comments about my sister Martha,
I want to observe that anything I say will only pale in
comparison to the incredible comments of Martha and Bernie's
children, and the outpouring of love and friendship that over
3,000 people shared for over 7 hours at last evening's wake.
It was obviously a great tribute to Martha--but it is also
a great tribute to all who waited for hours to say good by to
this bright, shining lady.
Now, let me begin with the obvious: My sister Martha is one
fabulous gal!
And so we gather today to celebrate the life of a
spectacular wife, a devoted mother, an over-the-top
grandmother, a trusted fiend, a tireless community activist,
a political confidant, an amazing spark plug of a woman, and
the best sister a sibling could ever hope to have.
When most people lose loved ones, they instinctively wish
they could have had just a little more time with them. The
Dodds and the Buonannos were lucky enough to be with Martha
constantly in the last days of her life.
And those last days were beautiful. Even as I say these
words, they sound so inherently contradictory.
Yet for a little more than a week, my sister insisted on
spending time alone with each of her five children and their
spouses, each of her 17 grandchildren, each of her five
siblings, as many of her close friends as were available,
and, of course, Bernie.
How many of us have lost someone without ever having a
chance to say goodbye, or the chance to tell them how much
they meant to us?
Martha left us with remarkable dignity, grace, and courage.
She had the incredible gift of deep, deep faith. She was
truly at peace.
And even though Martha has left us, we remain brightly lit
by the incandescent life she led. Frankly, as sad as we are
today, it's hard not to be overwhelmed with joy and love when
we think about a life filled with such vitality and vigor,
curiosity and compassion.
Martha was a few years older than me. At least, that was
the case until about twenty years ago. I was always the
younger brother until one night at the Dunes Club in
Narragansett, when she introduced me as her older, white-
haired brother.
But, for most of our lives, she made for one heck of a big
sister.
I learned early how special my sister Martha was.
One summer afternoon, decades ago, we were about to head
off for a family vacation. Our bags were packed, the station
wagon was full, and all of us were itching to get out of
town--but Martha's 8th-grade championship softball game was
running late. So we all waited together and watched.
In the bottom of the ninth, with the bases loaded and her
team behind, my sister Martha hit a grand slam home run to
win the game and the championship.
As I sat next to her on that car trip for our family
vacation, I was filled with the kind of awe you only feel
when you're a fourth-grader with the requisite dreams of
being a sports hero and you've just watched your twelve-year-
old sister win the big game.
Every time I drive by that softball field in West Hartford,
Connecticut, I can't help but think back to the day I
officially, and forever after was dazzled by my big sister.
Nothing Martha ever did was shy or tentative. When she was
just a toddler, during World War II, she once devoured our
entire family's monthly ration of butter. And when our father
wrote home from Nuremberg, Germany, in 1945, he always made
sure to ask how ``Miss Butter'' was doing.
Over the years, Martha never lost her love of a good meal,
but the most important part of any meal, any occasion for
that matter, was always the company with which she enjoyed
it.
If Martha were your dinner partner, you never had a better
or more enjoyable time in your life. She was that much fun.
Like most people with a vibrant spirit and a contagious
personality, she made a lot of friends in her life.
If you asked her, she'd tell you that our sister Carolyn
was her best friend in the world. Martha had a lot of great
friends, because when she made friends, she kept them
forever.
I.want to acknowledge the presence of several of my Senate
colleagues who were with us last evening and today.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is here with us today. She and Martha
became friends in college, and have been close ever since.
I have never known two people who were better friends to
their friends than my sister Martha and her friend Nancy
D'Alesandro Pelosi.
I want to also thank my good friend, and a Martha Dodd
Buonanno fan, Vice President, Joe Biden, for making the
effort to be with us yesterday.
Here also with us today are friends from high school,
friends from college, friends she made during her 45 years in
Rhode Island, and friends she accumulated at every stop along
the way.
Martha was fiercely loyal and compulsively competitive.
She was a natural politico. She was involved and present in
every part of every campaign I ever ran for Congress or the
United States Senate. She was my unflinching advocate, my
unyielding supporter.
And when I ran for President--a very brief run, you may
recall--she showed up all over South Carolina, Iowa, and New
Hampshire--and anywhere else there was a debate or forum or
town hall meeting.
No matter where we were, she put the hard sell on anyone
she encountered.
Even as her health was failing last week, she promised me
that she would tear into any opponents I might have from
wherever she was.
And in light of my present political circumstances, I told
her there'd be no lack of opportunity to use her talents.
However, along with Martha's loyalty came the requirement
that you stay true to yourself. So, she had no problem
calling me anytime to tell me in no uncertain terms when I
was screwing up.
Once, she called me and practically jumped through the
phone. ``Why did you vote with Jesse Helms?'' she asked.
I asked her, ``Well, what issue are you talking about?''
``I don't care WHAT the issue is! I just can't believe you
voted with Jesse Helms!''
It is important to point out that Martha could be non
partisan in her outrage. She had a similar outburst once when
I voted with my friend Bella Abzug!
When she was in her last days in the hospital in Boston, I
received a very kind phone call from President Barack Obama,
who was concerned about her failing health and wanted me to
pass along his and the First Lady's thoughts and prayers.
After the call, I walked back into Martha's hospital room,
and said in the presence of her family that I had just
received a very important phone call--but I didn't want to be
a name-dropper.

[[Page E2136]]

Martha opened one of her blue eyes, and said in a voice we
could all appreciate, ``Oh, go right ahead and drop the
name.''
When I told her who had called, and what the message was,
she opened the other blue eye, laughed, and said, ``You know,
you shoulda beaten that guy.''
I told President Obama that story when he called from Italy
on Tuesday to express his condolences. The President roared
with laughter at Martha's reaction.
Martha and Bernie have been such a magical couple--which,
of course, doesn't mean they always had the same tastes.
Which may have had something to do with the magic.
Martha, as you all know, loved to travel, which you'd
expect of someone with such an adventurous spirit.
Her favorite spot was the Dominican Republic, but there
wasn't anywhere in the world she wouldn't explore.
For Bernie, on the other hand, as Martha loved to say,
``foreign travel'' meant going from Providence to Westerly.
And a trip to see the Red Sox, the Celtics, or the Patriots
was a voyage on par with space travel.
So, as all of you know, Martha would travel on occasion by
herself--to India, to Ireland, to Mexico and Europe.
On one occasion, she became fascinated with the Lewis and
Clark expedition, and decided to follow their trail west--
with a group of complete strangers. Or, at least, they were
complete strangers when they started out.
It didn't take long for them to become lifelong friends,
one of whom is here with us today.
Even with all the energy she devoted to campaigning and to
the many, many efforts she made in this community, Martha
would always say, ``My sole ambition is my family.''
In one of those wonderful, quiet moments last week, when
she knew the end was near, she said to me, ``My ambition has
always been my family, and I have fulfilled every ambition.''
Martha and Bernie have been remarkable parents, and the
proof exists in their children. They are all frighteningly
bright. They are all remarkably successful. They are all
unbelievably well-balanced. And those were their mother's
descriptions when she was being modest.
Now, children can be gifted intellectually and athletically
just by winning the genetic lottery--but when children grow
up with decency, kindness, and humanity, you know that's a
direct result of great parenting.
These five young men and women are the mirror reflection of
their parents. And nothing, absolutely nothing, gave my
sister Martha greater satisfaction than their goodness.
Together, these five children are raising 17 terrific
children of their own.
When our parents passed away, Martha was the magnet that
kept us all in the same orbit. As we all know, once our
parents have passed, it can be hard to get the family
together.
That didn't happen with us, because we all knew that if
there was a holiday, there was going to be a get-together at
Martha's house.
There was going to be good food, and a lot of it.
And there was going to be a lot of laughter, raucous
debate, conversation, and the sheer joy of each other's
company.
Her favorite holidays, by far, were Christmas Eve, the
Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving.
In fact, she never let anything get in the way of bringing
her family, including her siblings, closer together--not even
the law.
Now, what I'm about to tell you could never happen in my
State of Connecticut. Martha once started building a
structure on their property in Narragansett which, as far as
the local zoning commission knew, was a tool shed.
She managed to avoid suspicion, even when the tool shed
started to get way too big to be plausibly intended for just
tools.
Martha got even more brazen with time, as the tool shed
acquired extra rooms.
And, really, the jig should have been up when she added
plumbing to that tool shed.
But Martha was nothing if not bold, and she got away with
building that guest house for our sister Carolyn to stay in
when she'd come and visit. Once it was clear that the zoning
commission was not about to mess with Martha Dodd Buonanno,
she even put up a sign calling it ``Aunt Kitty's Cottage.''
Martha was so proud of our brother Tom's years at
Georgetown, and his time as our ambassador in Costa Rica and
Uruguay.
She never ceased in her amazement of her best friend, my
sister Carolyn's achievements reviving American Montessori,
and her forty years of teaching.
The photos chronicling the growth of her wonderful family,
taken by our brother Jeremy, which hang in their home,
reflect Martha's respect, admiration, and love of her
brother.
And the tales, travels, and exploits of our brother Nick
kept her, in Martha's words, laughing and breathless for
years.
I already miss my charismatic, funny, lively, beautiful
sister.
But she touched so many people so deeply that I don't think
she'll ever really be gone. I'm going to see her in the faces
of her children and grandchildren.
I'm going to hear her voice whenever I'm on the campaign
trail or casting a vote in the Senate--particularly when she
would disagree with me.
And I'm going to feel her presence every time we celebrate
a holiday, every time we share a meal, every time I drive by
that softball field in West Hartford and remember just how
incredible it was to grow up with Martha.
Since moments like this never give you a chance to express
all of your emotions, let me just say, on behalf of all of
us, thank you, Martha, for everything.
All of us love you, all of us miss you, and all of us were
so lucky to be touched by your generous spirit.

____________________