For those of us who were young scholars of Congress in the 1960s and 1970s, we had the incredible privilege of a group of mentors who supported us, encouraged us it inspired us Nelson Polsby, Chuck Jones, John Kingdon. None were more important, loved and revered then Dick Fenno.
Dick encouraged us, supported us, read what we wrote and helped us make it better, treated us like equals, and inspired us with his own work and insights. He was especially great to me and Tom Mann. We saw him a lot when he was in Washington, played tennis with him, visited him
in Rochester where we could go to his house and spend time with him and Nancy. He invited us to be a part of the program at the sesquicentennial of the University. His work, of course, was seminal. He was the most important scholar of Congress of an entire generation.
But most important was that he was an absolutely wonderful human being to anyone who encountered him. I will miss him deeply.
