Norvell William Emerson (January 1, 1938 – June 22, 1996) was an American politician. He served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

from

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

from 1981 until his death from lung cancer in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which ...

in 1996. He was succeeded in the House by his widow, Jo Ann Emerson. Emerson was a Republican.

Early life

Emerson was raised in

Jefferson County, Missouri Jefferson County is located in the eastern portion of the state of Missouri. It is a part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 226,739, making it the sixth-most populous county in Missouri. Its county se ...

and attended public schools in nearby Hillsboro. He served as a House Page and graduated from Westminster College in

Fulton, Missouri Fulton is the largest city in and the county seat of Callaway County, Missouri, United States. Located about northeast of Jefferson City and the Missouri River and east of Columbia, the city is part of the Jefferson City, Missouri, Metropolita ...

in 1959. Emerson attended law school at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded ...

and the

University of Baltimore The University of Baltimore (UBalt, UB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland. UBalt's schools and colleges provide education in business, law, public affairs, and the applied arts and sc ...

, graduating with his LL.B from Baltimore in 1964. He was also a Captain in the

United States Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

from 1964 to 1992.

Career

He was serving as a congressional page serving on the floor during the 1954 United States Capitol shooting incident involving Puerto Rico terrorists. While in law school, Emerson served as a Congressional aide to U.S. Representative Robert Ellsworth, and after graduation he served on the staff of U.S. Senator

Charles Mathias Charles McCurdy Mathias Jr. (July 24, 1922 – January 25, 2010) was an American politician and attorney. A Republican, he served as a member of the United States Senate, representing Maryland from 1969 to 1987. He was also a member of ...

. Throughout the 1970s he worked in governmental affairs for several companies, and formed his own consulting group in 1979. In 1980, he was elected to Congress and was re-elected seven times. Emerson served on the House Committee on Rules.

Personal life

In 1988, after an intervention with his family and friends, Emerson acknowledged his

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

and spent a month at the Betty Ford Center. He later helped create the House Employee Assistance Program which provides legislative and administrative support services for the House, later expanded to the Senate, and helps alcoholics find treatment. Emerson died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

in 1996. He was succeeded by his widow, Jo Ann Emerson.

Legacy

The Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge, which crosses the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

at Cape Girardeau, is named after him, as is Emerson Hall, the main assembly room in the House Page School in the Jefferson Building of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...

and Emerson Hall, an upperclass residence hall at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, his alma mater. The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act of 1996 was named after the congressman, who fought for the proposal but died of cancer before it was passed. This act encourages the donation of food and grocery products to nonprofit organizations for distribution to needy individuals by protecting donors from liability when donating to a nonprofit organization, so long as the product is donated in "good faith," even if it later causes harm to the needy recipient. The national Food Security Wheat Reserve (1980–1996), later expanded to the Food Security Commodity Reserve (1996–1998), was renamed the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust (1998–) in his memory.

References

External links