E. Charles `Gus' Gustafson, 74, former chief reporter of debates at the U.S. House of Representatives, died June 1 at
Sleepy Hollow Manor Nursing and Convalescent Home in Annandale [Virginia]. He had emphysema. Mr. Gustafson joined the debate reporting staff of the House in 1973 and retired last June. At his
retirement, he was the last of the pen shorthand writers to work in the House. A resident of Annandale, he was born in West Clarksville, N.Y., where he graduated from high school at age 15. He
studied shorthand court reporting at Gregg College in Chicago and worked as a court reporter in Cleveland. During World War II, he served in the Navy aboard the battleship New Jersey, where he
was a reporter for courts-martial. After the war, he returned to Cleveland as a court reporter. Before moving to the Washington area and joining the House reporting staff, he was a court
reporter at Mahoning County Court in Youngstown, Ohio, and then operated a freelance reporting office in Youngstown. Survivors include his wife, Betsy, of Annandale, whom he married in 1946; two
sons, Charles B. Gustafson of Annandale and Richard G. Gustafson of Seattle; and two grandchildren.
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