Longtime staffers say Hyde was a friend, mentor

Sam Stratman so wanted to work for Henry Hyde he spent a week preparing for the job interview in May 1987.

"I followed his career for some time. He was the obvious choice," Stratman recalled.

Pat Durante helped Hyde with his first campaign as a congressman in 1974 and liked what he saw.

After Hyde was elected, "he asked me to work part-time, and I've been working 60 hours a week part-time for him the rest of my life," Durante said jokingly.

Both men spent Thursday grieving and celebrating the life of a man who was more than a boss to them.

For Stratman, who served as a press spokesman and top aide to Hyde in Washington, the 83-year-old conservative icon was a father figure.

"He had a wonderful capacity to be both persuasive and persuadable," Stratman said.

For Durante, Hyde's top aide in the district, the congressman was a close friend.

"Who else would take all the bad jokes?" Durante said. "He was a frustrated stand-up comedian. He taught me how to laugh at problems."

Hyde's affinity with words still amazes Durante.

The two were at a DuPage Republican Lincoln Day event once when organizers ran up in panic. The guest speaker had to cancel at the last minute and could Hyde fill in?

"He made a speech that brought the audience to tears. They gave him a standing ovation," Durante remembered.

Life in the 6th District was never boring in a political career that included the Iran Contra hearings, President Clinton's impeachment and local crises such as floods.

The staff lived with protests outside the office and death threats to their boss, who took it all in stride.

Stratman recalled how in the middle of impeachment hearings, Hyde as chairman of the Judiciary was raked over the coals by Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California.

After Waters' time ran out, Republicans urged Hyde to cut his critic off. Instead, he leaned into the microphone and said, "I grant additional time for the lady from California to finish her attack on me," Stratman recalled.

But "the impeachment was his toughest time," Durante said. "It was a national situation of great depth that he really struggled with. It took a real toll on him … Henry aged a lot in that time."

The cerebral Hyde set high standards for his staff.

"He liked competitive analysis," Stratman said. "He once said, 'I didn't hire you to tell me what I want to hear, I hired you to tell me what I need to hear.' "

Part of Hyde's popularity rested in his concern for issues in the district.

Durante and Hyde waded into numerous neighborhoods in Elmhurst, Wood Dale and Bensenville during a massive flood in 1987.

"He was hands-on. He went into the water in hip boots. He went into the basements," Durante said.

Despite his penchant for humor, Hyde did have his moments.

"The only time I saw him genuinely angry was during the government shutdown (in late 1995)," Stratman recalled. "He said, 'the country doesn't want us to stare across the aisle at each other, the country wants us to get something done.' "