Washington, D.C. – Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Malden), Dean of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, released the following statement honoring the memory of Mrs. Corinne Louise Conte, spouse of the late Congressman Silvio Conte. Mrs. Conte passed away on April 28, 2009.
“Everyone who served with Silvio Conte from the Massachusetts delegation remembers with great fondness the tremendous hospitality extended by him and Corinne at their home in Bethesda. Both Corinne and Silvio were superb cooks, and loved to entertain -- for Parliamentary delegations from foreign countries to Redskins fans at out-of-town Sunday games. Silvio would pull a wild salmon he had caught in Alaska from the freezer and poach it, add heirloom tomatoes from his garden, and Corinne would whip up a strawberry confection for desert or cut up some peaches to add to a white Italian wine. They were perfect partners for each other -- loving life, their family and their work.
Corinne was born on January 24, 1922, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to Charles and Kathleen Clemente Duval. As a teenager, she was a champion swimmer, winning the New England Championship for Breast Stroke Swimming at age 13. Following graduation from Pittsfield High School and St. Luke's School of Nursing in Pittsfield, Corinne served as a nurse in the Navy during World War II where she met Silvio when he was in the Seabees and recovering from an illness.
Corinne and Silvio were married in Pittsfield on November 8, 1947. After Silvio was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1958, Corinne moved to Bethesda, Maryland, where she raised their four children. While in the Washington, D.C. area, she worked as a real estate agent and was an active partner in her husband’s political campaigns. Corinne met every U.S. President from Dwight D. Eisenhower to George H.W. Bush, and many of the world's leaders from the 1950s through the early 1990 s. She also danced with Lyndon B. Johnson at his Inaugural Ball and served on President George H.W. Bush's special Committee on Mental Health in the late 1980s.
Corinne and Silvio were especially close to the great Millie and Tip O'Neill. Corinne found their apartment for them when Millie moved to Washington as Tip became speaker. They co-chaired Congressional delegations on trips to meet with the Parliamentary counterparts in Europe, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia and the Pacific. Whether at a conference table in Russia or at their bridge table in Bethesda, the two pairs shared a zest and enthusiasm that was contagious for others.
This love of life was so great that after Silvio's death, Corinne awarded an annual prize in Silvio's name, called the Joy of Politics Prize. Tip O'Neill was the first recipient. Indeed, Corinne's competitive spirit was the equal to Silvio's. During each election campaign, she and Sil would board a van and travel throughout their district to campaign. Her practicality and down to earth manner, honed by her experience as a nurse, was the perfect complement to Silvio's exurberance.
Much has been written about the Congressional wife, not all of it favorable. Corinne was a model of vitality and probity. She had a remarkable and full life, and I extend my condolences to the family on her passing. The House of Representatives and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts can be proud that she served along with her husband with such distinction.
Corinne was a friendly and cheerful person who was loved by everyone who knew her. She had a remarkable and full life, and I extend my condolences to the family on her passing."
