Cytaty thumb|Terkel na wiecu w 2007 popierającym wdrożenie powszechnie dostępnej opieki zdrowotnej w USA Na temat swych urodzin w maju 1912: "Kiedy to Titatnic szedł w dół, ja wzeszłem." (ang.: ang. "As the Titanic went down, I came up...") (ang.: "I hope for peace and sanity — it's the same thing.") (ang.: "I've always felt, in all my books, that there's a deep decency in the American people and a native intelligence—providing they have the facts, providing they have the information.") (ang.: "With optimism, you look upon the sunny side of things. People say, 'Studs, you're an optimist.' I never said I was an optimist. I have hope because what's the alternative to hope? Despair? If you have despair, you might as well put your head in the oven.") (ang.: "That's why I wrote this book: to show how these people can imbue us with hope. I read somewhere that when a person takes part in community action, his health improves. Something happens to him or to her biologically. It's like a tonic.") (ang. "The older you are, the freer you are, as long as you last.") W wieku lat 95. (ang.: "Take it easy, but take it.") Przez lata, jego radiowe pożegnanie na antenie lokalnego radia WFMT-FM Na temat złamania biodra: (ang." "I was walking downstairs carrying a drink in one hand and a book in the other.