A number of people remembered former Sen. Wallace F. Bennett on Monday. Bennett died early Sunday in his sleep in his Salt Lake home. Here are some of the tributes paid to Bennett:
- The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:"(Sen. Bennett) served with distinction in every facet of his long and illustrious life. He was a successful businessman, senator and family man. He also served his church in many ways, including years as a member of the Sunday School General Board.
"He was energetic in all of his pursuits and maintained a vigorous lifestyle, even in his advanced years, taking great satisfaction in walking daily from his home to his downtown office. He was an example to all how one can grow old gracefully by maintaining mental and physical vitality.
"He was a man of principle and never shirked responsibility. Nor was he concerned that his vote in the Senate would be received with popular acclaim. Rather, he would study the issues and cast his vote that which he felt to be right.
"The senator will be sorely missed by his dear wife, Frances, and their posterity."
- Retired U.S. Sen. Jake Garn won Bennett's seat when Bennett left the Senate in 1975. "I've known Wallace Bennett most of my life. I grew up in his neighborhood. Bob (Bennett's youngest son) and I were in the same class in high school. No greater compliment can be paid a member of the Senate than to be universally respected by his colleagues - and Wallace was."
Garn said when he first went to the Senate he was told he had big shoes to fill. "Russell Long (a long-time senator) said Wallace Bennett always gave you a straight answer the first time you asked and it never changed - a rarity in the Senate." To help Garn, Bennett resigned from the Senate two weeks early, thus giving freshman Garn a leg up in seniority. "It helped me a great deal getting committee assignments I wanted. But that was Wallace" willing to help out others.
- Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, remembers how kind Bennett was to him after Hatch first won election in 1976, two years after Bennett retired. In 1980, when the Republicans won control of the U.S. Senate after decades of Democratic control, Hatch found himself a young chairman of a major committee. "I asked for Sen. Bennett's counsel. He gave sage advice, like talk to the Democrats and ask for their help when I needed it. We will all miss him greatly."
Hatch said Bennett's greatest contribution may have been "his steady hand" as ranking Republican on the Senate's banking and finance committee for many years. "Without Wallace Bennett, we would have had much poorer tax law in this country than we did," Hatch said. "He helped keep this country from going down the drain financially."
- Former Democratic U.S. Sen. Frank Moss said, "I served with him for 14 years. Our philosophies were very much different. He was a rock-ribbed Republican and I was more liberal in my views. But I never had any reason to doubt his word or honesty, he just felt that way and that's the kind of service he gave.
"He opposed anything he thought was expensive, such as Canyonlands National Park. But he was generally supportive of the Central Utah Project, and I appreciated getting his help on a number of bills like the CUP."
- Former Democratic Gov. Cal Rampton said, "He was in Washington for 10 years of my term as governor. Although we often differed on national issues, we worked together specifically on interests of Utah, particularly water issues. I could generally depend on Sen. Bennett to back specific things introduced for the state of Utah.