PETER N. KYROS

KYROS HONORABLE PETER N. KYROS Peter Nicholas Kyros, born July 11, 1925, a U.S. Representative from Maine, died July 10, 2012. Born in Portland, Maine, Peter attended public schools in Maine, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Both his father, Nicholas, and his uncle served in the U.S. Army in World War I. In the summer of 1942, Peter worked building Liberty ships at the Todd Bath Shipyard in Maine, developing an early love for ocean ships. After graduating from Portland High School in 1943, Peter enlisted in the U.S. Navy in a V-12 engineering program at MIT. He was one of seven cousins who served in World War II. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1947. He served in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1953, serving on destroyer tours in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Upon discharge from the Navy as a lieutenant in 1954, Peter attended Harvard Law School, receiving his law degree in 1957. In 1966 Senator Ed Muskie asked Peter to run for Congress, and he was elected to represent the first district of Maine. In the U.S. Congress Peter served on the House Merchant Marine, Energy and Commerce, and Banking Committees. As a member of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, Peter helped develop legislation to promote and regulate the U.S. maritime industry and pressed for legislation establishing a 200-mile offshore fishing limit to protect U.S. fisheries, supporting coastal zone protection and clean water. The enactment of the 200-mile limit, passed with the help of allies from Northwestern states, protected the U.S. fishing industry and the environment from the destruction of fisheries in U.S. waters. It stands today as the rule of law. Peter also worked to maintain the destroyer and submarine shipyards in Maine. He was responsible for the inclusion of Maine waters and rivers under the protection of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Upon leaving Congress, Peter served in the United States Department of State as a liaison to Congress on trade and shipping issues, and resumed a legislative consulting practice in Washington, D.C. as a member of the firms Finley, Kumble and Downey, McGrath. He represented biomedical research scientists as an advocate for scientific and medical research and funding for NIH. Peter organized a Congressional biomedical research caucus through which scientists have provided briefings to members of Congress and staff for the past twenty years. During this time, Peter also taught congressional procedure to senior federal officials. He also represented federal administrative law judges ensuring that their judicial independence and integrity be maintained. Former Secretary of Interior Manuel Lujan said: "Peter had a quick warm smile and was a lifelong loyal friend." Former Congressman George Gekas (Pa) noted that Peter was "a charming man, classical in every way but for his golf swing." His former law partner, Richard Davis of Cape Elizabeth, said: "He was a true friend, elegant in conversation, and devoted in his love for Maine, its history and people." Peter was predeceased by his beloved son, Peter N. Kyros, Jr., his brother George Kyros and Alice W. Kyros. He is survived by his wife, Susan, his daughter Joanne Carol Kyros, his son-in-law Thomas Schaufelberger, his daughter-in-law Valerie Kyros, and his five prized grandchildren: Katie, Lindsey, Nicholas, Caroline, and Peter III. The family will receive friends at JosephGawler's Sons, 5130 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC on Sunday July 15, 2012 from 1 to 3 p.m.., with a Trisagion prayer service at 2:30 p.m.The family will receive friends at JosephGawler's Sons, 5130 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC on Sunday July 15, 2012 from 1 to 3 p.m.., with a Trisagion prayer service at 2:30 p.m.