My mother, Carol Wike Nudo, was a force of nature and a fierce, lifelong Democrat.  I owe everything I am as a man to my mom.  She taught me to always think, to live courageously, and to make everything of my time on this Earth.  She also taught me how to be a great cook and make sure guests were happy – always with a full belly – and to always thank people for the privilege of their fellowship and their precious time shared.  But most of all, she taught me to pursue a lifetime of learning, of serving others, and taught me to always fight for anyone who needed help without hesitation or fear.

People across Southern Illinois looked up to my mother and still today remember her courage and sacrifices, and folks remember how she worked tirelessly to make lives better for people with disability at a time very different from today.  People here know what she did to challenge and break the status quo of her time.  She was equally fierce in her feminism – again, at a time when few yet knew how.  To protect and expand women’s rights in America, my mother even took the fight, toe to toe, to Phyllis Schlafly, The First Lady of the regressions against Choice and the Equal Rights Amendment of the 1970s.  My mother walked tall everywhere she went, and welcomed every person she met.  These things too, I proudly cherish as personal facets of the character she passed on to me.