Capitol Words a project of the Sunlight Foundation

Rep. Janice Hahn

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the life of Ryan Rossi, an inspiring young man from my district who died too soon this past December.

A star soccer forward at his alma mater of Cal State Northridge, a talented singer songwriter, and a dedicated humanitarian, Ryan made the world a brighter place for his having been in it. And while non-Hodgkin's lymphoma extinguished his life at the age of 27, it could not dim the love and generosity that suffused it.

After a trip to El Salvador, meeting impoverished children with ragged breathing caused by the toxic fumes of the kerosene lamps that lit their homes, Ryan helped start a charity to replace the noxious lamps with clean, safe and affordable solar lamps.

Before his death, Ryan asked that he be remembered not with a funeral, but with a celebration. And well we should celebrate, for today I know Ryan's light lives on--not only in the hearts of those who knew him, but in the homes of thousands who never will.