MRS. KENNEDY and I join the nation in mourning the death of Speaker Rayburn. His public service stretched from the administration of Woodrow Wilson to the present day. But it was the quality of that service more than its length that was so distinctive.
A strong defender of constitutional responsibilities of the Congress, he had an instinctive understanding of the American system and was a loyal counselor and friend of Presidents of both parties on the great matters which affected our national interest and security.
I had singular opportunity as a young Congressman, and now more recently as President, to appreciate his temperament and his character, both were bedded in rock and remained unchanged by circumstance.
This country ,has lost a devoted servant and the citizens of this country, an unflinching friend.
Note: Mr. Rayburn was elected to the Congress in 1912 and served continuously until the time of his death. His service included 17 years as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
John F. Kennedy, Statement by the President on the Death of Sam Rayburn. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/235545