[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 145 (Friday, October 7, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: October 7, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO IRVIN WOLOCK
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HON. CONSTANCE A. MORELLA
of maryland
in the house of representatives
Friday, October 7, 1994
Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the late Irvin
Wolock, a past president of the American Society of Plastic Engineers,
who died tragically last month, and to bring to your attention a moving
eulogy by Rabbi Joel H. Zaiman.
Irvin Wolock, of Silver Spring, Maryland, died September 23 after
being injured in a traffic accident. A researcher at the Naval Research
Laboratory, he was a civic leader in Montgomery County, serving at one
time as president of the Montgomery County Civic Federation and of the
Rosemary Hills Civic Association. In 1964, he received the Washington
Star Newspaper Cup Award for his civic activities. He was a friend who
added luster and strength to the phrase ``Civic Activist.''
Rabbi Zaiman's eulogy is a wonderful tribute to Irv Wolock, and I am
taking the liberty of enclosing portions of it. The text of the Eulogy
follows:
It is hard to imagine, let alone believe, that Irv Wolock
is not alive. It is not so much that he died so suddenly, it
is that he was so alive, that it is hard to imagine him any
other way. You can't even comfort yourself by pretending that
Irv is napping or sleeping and maybe, somehow, miraculously,
he will wake up.
Because, you never thought of him napping or sleeping in
the first place. No . . . you thought of him being, acting,
doing, asserting, insisting.
Tall, thin, his was a commanding presence. you knew he was
there. Even when he was quiet. Perhaps, because he was so
often silent. those who knew him, knew he would have the last
word. Yet, the sense of his commanding presence was felt even
by strangers who did not know that Irv would eventually let
you know how he felt. To be more accurate, how he thought.
Not often did Irv express his deepest feelings. That was
hardly his style. It was his thinking that he freely shared.
And, which, with rare exception, carried the day. He was
bright, well trained--a PHD in Engineering from Hopkins,
ordered, orderly and organized, well read in his chosen field
and researched well in whatever he ventured . . . he wanted,
he expected his opinions to prevail. And, they did.
Irv was a man who expected. High expectations. Of himself,
first. He loved to work. He loved his work. He distinguished
himself in that work. With the National Bureau of Standards.
Thirty-five years with the Naval Research Lab. He was an
expert in composite plastic materials, becoming the President
of the Society of Plastic Engineers. He authored numerous
scientific articles and received numerous awards. He worked
on the Manhattan Project an did field research after the
atomic blasts in the Bikini Islands. He really achieved. High
expectations. He pushed himself.
Others, too. Particularly, his kids. Five A's and one B.
Why the B? demanding. Tough. He was devoted to his children--
Janet, Bruce, Joanne. He would do anything for them. He was
more than willing to sacrifice for them. And, how fiercely
they loved him. Valued him, appreciated him. How hard they
tried to please him--and how accomplished they are. He loved
them and was proud of them--notwithstanding the fact that it
was not Irv's style to verbally profess that love and pride.
That was left for Shirley. She took care of that, and a lot
of other things, too. for 43 years . . .
And, in that neighborhood where Irv grew up, and in that
home where Irv grew, he acquired another, more significant
passion. Social justice. He was not only a chemical engineer.
He was, to his everlasting credit, a social engineer--and,
the two, do not often go together. He had a keen sense of
justice. He had a clear vision of how things should be. He
was committed to and worked for a ``kinder and gentler
society'', well before it became a political slogan. . . .
He was active, very active, in the civic life of Montgomery
county were Shirley and he lived. President of various civic
associations. Chosen as outstanding citizen of Montgomery
County. Ran as an independent--fat chance of success--for the
Montgomery County Council. But, Irv made his point. And, that
is precisely what he wanted to accomplish. On all fronts, he
was a man to be reckoned with. In his profession, in his
community--as a citizen, and in his family. . . .
So along comes Parkinson's disease to challenge Irv Wolock.
A disciplined, health conscious, life affirming man. A
fiercely independent soul who could not take from others. . .
. Parkinson's. It slows you down. Irv, denied he had it. He
continued as though he did not. He loved life. He wanted
desperately to live. He had to be in control. And he would be
damned if he would allow something like Parkinson's to
challenge that control.
It was tough. There is an inexorability to Parkinson's.
Since Irv was so active, and since he did so many different
things, he was more aware than most of that inexorability--
though he denied it throughout. There was nothing he could
not fix. Or, did not fix. Parkinson's changed that. It was
very hard for Irv and for those who loved him.
He didn't know how to yield. Giving up was not in his
nature. Some people go through life accepting and blaming
circumstances. Irv, created circumstances. Parkinson's was
tough.
And then . . . he took the route that he told Shirley and
his children never to take. Undoubtedly, in a crunch, he took
it himself before. This time, the mistake was fatal. Yet, he
did beat the ravages of Parkinson's.
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