FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES RECALL CONGRESSMAN AS HARD WORKER

~Correction: Visitation is at Old St. Vincent's CHURCH, not Cathedral.

His friends and fellow lawmakers remember U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson as a family man who worked hard to serve his constituents.

Emerson, 58, died Saturday of lung cancer after being admitted last Monday to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Md., with a respiratory infection.

The Cape Girardeau Republican began his political career at age 15, working as a page in the U.S. House. He was elected to Congress in 1980, the first Republican to win the Southeast Missouri district in 52 years. His subsequent re-elections made him the first Republican to be elected to three terms in the Southeast Missouri congressional district. Emerson served on the House Committee on Agriculture and House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Local legislators mourned the loss of a friend and valuable asset to the 8th Congressional District.

"He was the best man in the U.S. Congress," state Rep. Mary Kasten, a Republican, said Sunday. "He was very modest, but he had much more influence than anyone could imagine. It is a terrible loss for all of us and for our country."

State Sen. Peter Kinder managed Emerson's first Congressional campaign in 1980. Kinder, a Republican, remembered that summer as one of the hottest ever, and he watched the candidate work tirelessly to win the election.

"I was amazed at his physical stamina and moral courage," Kinder said. "He was straightforward and honest -- what you saw was what you got.

"His efforts permanently changed the politics of Southeast Missouri to the point where it is competitive now. Despite all that time in Washington, he never lost his feel for Missouri and its people."

Kinder said Emerson didn't get enough credit for taking a big risk in 1980 by quitting his lucrative lobbyist job to return to the district and run for Congress. "He was a man of extraordinary moral courage," Kinder said.

He was a dependable GOP vote, his standing only enhanced by the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994. Emerson was in line to become House Agriculture Committee chairman if the party held its majority.

Emerson was a pack-a-day cigarette smoker when he was diagnosed with lung cancer in November. He gave up smoking cigarettes, but took to chewing on unlit cigars.

"All of Congress will feel the loss of Bill Emerson," House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Saturday night, following Emerson's death at 6:17 p.m. Missouri time.

"He was a leader on nutrition programs and a man who was admired on both sides of the aisle. Our thoughts and prayers are with (Emerson's wife) Jo Ann and his family," Gingrich said.

Emerson had filed for a ninth term, but cancer treatments kept him tied down in Washington so his candidate paperwork came to Missouri by courier. Still, Emerson expressed repeated hopes that he would be strong enough to campaign this fall.

"I have not faltered. I expect I'm going to continue doing the job," Emerson told The Associated Press recently. But he sometimes had to use a wheelchair to conserve his energy, and was often seen using an oxygen mask as he arrived to vote on the House floor.

State Auditor Margaret Kelly, a Republican, said she and Emerson were childhood pals - as were their mothers - in Jefferson County.

"Bill was a very dear personal friend of mine for many years. I think he was a wonderful public servant and will be missed by many, many people," said Kelly, the leading GOP candidate for governor.

"He was the Rock of Gibraltar of the Republican Party in southeast Missouri," said Woody Cozad, the Missouri GOP chairman. "It's a great loss to all his friends and the Republican Party and the state of Missouri."

U.S. Sen. John Ashcroft said he and his wife, Janet, were saddened by the lost of a great man, friend and public servant.

"Congressman Bill Emerson embodied what the framers of the Constitution meant by a representative `of the people,'" he said. "His belief in God, family and country made him a voice his constituency trusted and other members respected, both Democrat and Republican."

U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond called Emerson "a straight shooter you could count on to represent southeast Missourians."

Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour said the congressman would be sorely missed by those he represented and by the people with whom he worked.

Democrats, too, expressed their sadness over losing Emerson.

"For 16 years he represented the citizens of Southeast Missouri with distinction and honor," said Missouri Secretary of State Bekki Cook. "My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to the members of his staff who worked so closely with him over the years."

Emerson was also admired and supported by many Democrats, and he depended on their votes to get re-elected. Democrats interviewed Sunday cited his backing of agricultural programs important to the largely rural district, and support for bricks-and-mortar improvements such as highways, levees and bridges.

"My only regret is that we never got to have a big dinner and tell Bill Emerson how much we appreciated all he did for the region," said state Rep. Larry Thomason, D-Kennett.

Another veteran Democrat, state Sen. Danny Staples of Eminence, said he was "brokenhearted about the passing of just a fine man."

"He was fair, he was impartial, and he had the will of the people at heart. He had as much Democratic support as he did Republican. He was my friend and I'm going to miss him," Staples said.

Emily Firebaugh of Farmington, a Democratic candidate for Emerson's seat, said she respected Emerson for his hard work and commitment to his to his job. "Bill Emerson was not only a good politician, he was a gentleman who took great pride in his work," Firebaugh said.

The congressman was born and raised in Hillsboro, son of Marie Reinemer Emerson Hahn and the late Norvell Preston Emerson. He earned a bachelors degree from Westminster College in Fulton in 1959 and a law degree from University of Baltimore in 1964.

Emerson is survived by his wife, Jo Ann; four daughters, Victoria, Katharine, Elizabeth and Abigail; and his mother, Marie Hahn of Cape Girardeau.

He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Cape Girardeau and served on the Southeast Missouri Council Associate Board of the Boy Scouts of America.

Ford and Sons Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau has announced tentative arrangements.

Visitation is scheduled for 5-8 p.m. Wednesday at Old St. Vincent's Church in downtown Cape Girardeau.

The funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at First Presbyterian Cathedral of Cape Girardeau. Burial will follow in Hillsboro City Cemetery.