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JOINT RESOLUTIONS

a policeman and a German immigrant mother, he was one of
11 children. Through dedication, imagination and
determined hard work, he became one of 20th century
Maryland's most effective and distinguished public
leaders.

His achievements in government are reflected in
every corner of Maryland: in her universities and
hospitals, her roadways and public parks, and in
countless other public projects whose realization is a
tribute to the Governor's foresight and innovation. But
Theodore McKeldin's most significant contribution lies in
his enduring impact on the hearts and minds of the fellow
citizens he loved so deeply. He was described as "a man
for the people and of the people," for Governor McKeldin
delighted in the company of people. He especially loved
the brilliant tapestry of America's religious, racial and
ethnic heritage, which constitutes the strength of our
Nation. He treasured the rich diversity of our
traditions, and he relished his own active participation
in them. Whether quoting a solemn passage from the
Torah, recounting with great sensitivity the epic life of
Baltimore's revered Cardinal Gibbons, or delivering a
powerful sermon in a Protestant church, Theodore McKeldin
always displayed his unique understanding of all that is
fundamental to American life.

The Governor's profound religious conviction was the
key to both his personal and his public life. He was not
a man for whom religious pieties served as gestures, to
be uttered as rhetorical flourishes. His religious sense
grew out of a strong and deeply rooted personal
commitment to his God; it found expression in his
sympathy for the underdog and the downtrodden, in his
sincere and righteous indignation at injustice, in his
unfailing efforts at conciliation with those who
disagreed with him. He often said that his goal was
always "to encourage the Brotherhood of Man under the
Fatherhood of God."

With the death of Theodore Roosevelt McKeldin, the
citizens of Maryland and of our entire Nation have lost
more than a political personality, a mayor or a Governor.
Throughout his long and distinguished career in public
service he remained ahead of his time in his concern for
the economically deprived, for racial, religious, and
ethnic minorities, and for others whom our society is
often to busy to remember.

He was a moral leader with an unshakable commitment
to justice and equality of opportunity; to his great
credit and our lasting benefit, he was able to translate
that commitment into public policies and programs which
won the support and respect of the voters of Maryland. I