[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 11, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H6819-H6820]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       TRIBUTE TO SHARON PORTMAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Pallone] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a community 
activist whose passing has left a void in the lives of our many friends 
at the New Jersey shore and in the lives of many other people who did 
not know her personally but who have been touched in one way or another 
by her good work.
  Sharon Portman of Ocean Township, New Jersey died last week at the 
age of 54 after a two-year battle with cancer. She was one of the most 
caring members of our community in Monmouth County. Sharon received 
much praise and honor for her many years of kind and generous 
contributions to both the Jewish community and the community at large.
  Back in September of 1993, on the occasion of the historic signing of 
the peace accord between Israel yell and the Palestinians on the White 
House lawn, I brought Sharon as my guest. She had dedicated so much of 
her time and energy to working for a strong and secure Israel. She 
believed passionately that one day Israel would achieve peace with her 
Arab neighbors, and she recognized that the best way to accomplish this 
goal was to build a State of Israel that remained true to the values of 
Jewish teaching and a democratic political system process, while 
maintaining the ability to resist military invasion and terrorism.
  When the PLO leadership finally decided to give up its relentless 
hostility against Israel and work for mutual recognition and peace, the 
view that Sharon Portman had always supported and worked for was 
finally vindicated.
  Sharon Portman was a lot of things to a lot of people. She was a 
staunch environmentalist and advocate for the 

[[Page H 6820]]
disadvantaged, a women's rights advocate, a friend of animals, and a 
businesswoman, as well as a wife and mother. I knew her best because of 
her love of politics. She exemplified for me that motto that we often 
see on bumper stickers that says, think globally, act locally.
  She commented incessantly on international and national issues, but 
she understood that the best way she could influence public policy was 
by working in New Jersey for candidates and causes in which she 
believed. But Sharon did not just work herself. She had an incredible 
ability to get others involved.
  At her funeral service last Sunday, I was talking about politics with 
a group of people and one person said that he had little interest in 
running for office. If Sharon were present, she would have talked to 
that man and encouraged him to participate for the future of his local 
community, for the state and for the country. She would know how to get 
him involved.
  Sharon was above all a friend to me and everyone else that she could 
help in difficult times. She suffered for two years from a brain tumor, 
and she refused to give up. She wanted to help others who were 
afflicted by the same disorder.
  Last summer my father-in-law was diagnosed with brain cancer, and 
every time I spoke to Sharon she asked me about him and wanted to help. 
She suggested literature, hospitals, methods of treatment, and just 
general information on how our family could deal with the problem and 
all this while she suffered so much herself.
  Sharon Portman will be remembered by me and others for a long time 
because she served as such a wonderful example of what helping others 
is all about.


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