Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 9, 1991 TAG: 9102090453
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short
Conte, 69, had been hospitalized for a blood clot on the brain.
The 17-term congressman underwent emergency surgery Feb. 1 for removal of the clot, and his office said then he was expected to recover fully.
But he underwent a second operation to remove blood accumulating in the brain on Wednesday at the National Institutes of Health in suburban Bethesda, Md., near his home, and was listed in critical condition.
His wife drove him to the hospital on Feb. 1 after he complained of flu-like symptoms and loss of feeling in his left hand.
Conte, a gregarious, cigar-chomping deal-maker, brought home the bacon for his western Massachusetts district for more than three decades and angered GOP conservatives with his liberal votes.
He was the senior Republican on the powerful Appropriations Committee.
Born Nov. 9, 1921 in Pittsfield, Mass., Conte grew up in that working class city's Italian-American neighborhood. After serving in the Navy in World War II Conte attended Boston College and its law school and won a seat in the Massachusetts Senate.
by CNB