[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 78 (Monday, June 20, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: June 20, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO BERNIE CIEPLICKI
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask the Senate's attention today to honor
a very special person.
Bernie Cieplicki is a Vermonter whose expanded family includes two
generations of young men and women who have learned how to conduct
themselves in life--because he gave them the model to live by.
A wonderful sportsman, father, teacher and friend. Bernie is still
setting an example on dealing with life, as he faces a very difficult
physical condition with all the courage that has forever been his trade
mark in the community.
A devoted church and family man, Bernie counts his blessings--the
time he has to spend with his wife, Christine, their five children and
six grandchildren.
Our prayers for Bernie are shared with thousands of Vermonters who
know and love him, and hope he remains with us for many years to come.
I ask that this very poignant sketch of Bernie Cieplicki's life and
special circumstances, written by Andy Gardiner, that appeared in the
June 19, 1994, edition of the Burlington Free Press be reprinted in the
Congressional Record in its entirety, as a tribute to Bernie and his
wonderful family of friends in Vermont.
There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[The Burlington Free Press, June 19, 1994]
A Tough, Stubborn Fighter--Father's Day Has Special Meaning for
Cieplicki Family
(By Andy Gardiner)
Bernie Cieplicki has been fending off death for the better
part of 25 years.
Ever since he underwent his first open-heart surgery in
1972, Cieplicki has lived with the unblinking reality that
each day might be his last. His heart, irrevocably weakened
by rheumatic fever, is failing him.
There have been three more major surgeries, one of which
sent him into a coma for a week. In 1992, he received a heart
transplant, a transplant that his body is now slowly
rejecting. He is terminally ill.
But the discipline, faith, and doggedness that have
characterized his life have not deserted Cieplicki, 58. As a
basketball player at St. Michael's College, as a high school
teacher and coach at Rice Memorial High School, and as an
administrator at Winooski High School, Bernie Cieplicki was
steadfast in the face of adversity. He remains so today.
``My father isn't gratefully sitting back in a rocking
chair,'' said Kevin, the eldest of the five Cieplicki
children. ``If that's the way he was, he probably wouldn't
have lasted this long. He's a tough, stubborn fighter.''
A large part of Cieplicki's strength comes from his family.
Chris, his wife of 37 years, the five children, and six
grandchildren have provided a wellspring of love and support.
The Cieplickis have always been a family of some note.
Bernie's long prominence as a coach and the subsequent
success on the basketball court of his three sons lifted them
out of the anonymous category and thrust them into public
view.
Kevin, 36, is a stockbroker in town. Karen, 34, is the
payroll coordinator for South Burlington. Mary, 32, is a
comptroller for a local firm. Keith, 31, is an assistant
coach for the Boston College women's basketball team. And
young Bernie, 21, is a junior at the University of Vermont
and an integral part of the basketball team.
``They have all done so much for me,'' Bernie said. ``I
feel badly that I can't do more for them now.''
It's a noble sentiment, but the children think Bernie has
things reversed. The debt they feel they owe him is beyond
repayment. But on this Father's Day, they reflected on how
much their father has meant to them.
Kevin was the first of the boys to excel in basketball. He
played for his father at Rice and later went on to St.
Michael's and St. Lawrence.
``My Dad was always known as a taskmaster, a no-nonsense
type of guy,'' Kevin said. ``But he is such a private person
that most people don't realize how loving and giving a man he
is.''
Kevin remembers the time he threw a tantrum in a Babe Ruth
baseball game and his father came out of the stands to yank
him from the game and take him home. That ride included a
pointed lecture on the merits of sportsmanship and proper
behavior.
But the memory that remains strongest came much earlier,
when Kevin was in kindergarten and hobbled by braces on both
legs needed to correct a hip condition.
``I wore those braces for almost two years,'' Kevin said.
``And what I wanted most in the world was just to be able to
wear a pair of tennis shoes.''
The day the braces came off, Bennie had a pair of P.F.
Flyers waiting for his son when he got home.
The running joke in the Cieplicki family was that no one
realized there were any girls in it. But Karen and Mary never
felt left out.
``He gave just as much time to us as he did to the boys, it
just wasn't in public view,'' Karen said. ``I remember him
getting up at 6 a.m. to play tennis with me. That was our
time together.
``I remember when he taught driver's education all summer
and there I'd be with the keys in my hand when he got home,
waiting for my turn. And out we'd go together.
``We've lived with Dad's condition for so long that's
become a way of life for us. We are a very close family.
There are times when the anger and frustration over this
comes out, but there is so much love that holds us
together.''
Her older brothers may have grabbed the headlines, but Mary
was an accomplished tennis and basketball player in her own
right at Rice. And if he wasn't off coaching, Bernie was
usually there to lend his support from the stands.
``He always encouraged us to be involved, whether it was
school or athletics,'' Mary said. ``Obviously my brothers
were more successful athletically, but I always knew I was
important. My sister and I always knew we belonged.
``I know people think of my dad as a great coach, but the
thing I will always remember is how much he loves us. He has
always been there to take care of us and it is wonderful to
go home to a family like that.''
Keith was an academic All-American and one of the greatest
players in William & Mary history. Although his job as Cathy
Inglese's top assistant has taken him to Boston, he serves as
a unifying force among the five children.
``I know that most people think of my dad as a coach, but I
have always seen him as an educator first,'' Keith said.
``Life was full of lessons for him to teach us.
``Growing up we kept hearing about how he once played at
St. Michael's with three broken ribs. I must have heard that
story 8,000 times. But it was his way of saying that if you
put your mind to it, you can overcome most anything.
``We were a middle class family, but Dad always made me
feel we could have whatever we wanted out of life. I keep
going because he keeps going.
``Whether he's here or not physically next year, I know he
will always be with me. That's the beauty of growing up in a
close family.''
There is a 10-year gap between Bernie and his brothers and
sisters. When he was growing up, his siblings had embarked on
their own lives.
``Being the only child at home, we were able to be around
each other more and I see a lot of myself in him,'' Bernie
said of his father. ``He taught me to have respect for other
people and their ideas and to always listen to what other
people have to say.''
Bernie was a four-year starter at Rice and was named the
state's premier player by the Free Press his senior year.
That held little water with his father.
``Dad's favorite saying is that the biggest room in the
world is the room for improvement,'' Bernie said. ``I never
believed it as a kid--I was a know-it-all. But I really
believe it now.''
Through it all, Chris has been there for her husband and
her children. She has watched the family deal with the
sadness and adjust to the inevitable quality of the future.
``It has been a long journey for all of us,'' she said.
``What has carried us through is the love the children have
for their father and the love he has for them.''
____________________