[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 30, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H4165-H4166]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       IN MEMORY OF DONNIE MINTZ

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas [Mr. Frost] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, my friend Donnie Mintz was buried yesterday 
in New Orleans--the victim of a heart attack that took his life too 
soon at age 53.
  Donnie led a remarkable life and will be missed by many.
  Donnie and I met 38 years ago in 1958 when we were teenagers 
attending a leadership training institute of the National Federation of 
Temple Youth in Kresgeville, PA. Two southern boys at a camp of highly 
talented teenagers, mostly from the Northeast and Midwest, Donnie and I 
became lifelong friends.
  Our lives intersected many times in the years that followed. Donnie 
was elected regional president of the Southern Federation of Temple 
Youth [SOFTY], and I was elected vice-president of the Texas-Oklahoma 
Federation of Temple Youth [TOFTY]. Later, Donnie was elected national 
president of the temple youth movement, and I was elected national 
treasurer.
  Donnie attended Columbia University in New York where he became a 
Fulbright scholar and ultimately returned to Louisiana to earn a law 
degree from Tulane. While he attended Tulane, Donnie helped establish 
the annual direction speakers series and later was named to the Tulane 
Leadership Hall of Fame.
  Though at different schools, we were members of the same college 
fraternity, Zeta Beta Tau, and served in the same Army Reserve program 
[JAG] but in different cities. During those years, we would see each 
other at Army Reserve summer camps.
  We shared a love for politics and talked about it often. I always 
thought Donnie Mintz would be elected to public office long before I 
would be.
  But Donnie's life took a different path. He built a successful law 
firm in New Orleans, was active in a variety of civic causes and served 
numerous Jewish organizations on both a local and national level. 
Donnie served as chairman of the Anti-Defamation League's national 
advisory board. He also was one of a few Jewish lay leaders chosen to 
meet with Saudi Arabia royalty when Israel's contacts with that country 
were minimal. He was granted a papal audience.
  In addition, Donnie served as chairman of the Louisiana Health Care 
Authority, the Board of Commissioners

[[Page H4166]]

for the Port of New Orleans, the Downtown Development District and the 
United Way. He was also president of the Metropolitan Area Committee, 
Kingsley House, Touro Synagogue and the Jewish Federation of Greater 
New Orleans. Donnie also served on the board of directors for the New 
Orleans Symphony.
  His passion was for the city of New Orleans. Though a decided 
underdog, he ran two very competitive campaigns for mayor falling just 
short each time. After his attempts for mayor, Donnie returned to his 
law practice and pursued strengthening black-Jewish relations.
  He was extremely interested in the subject because as Tulane Law 
School Dean John Kramer said, ``he felt the bridges ought to be there. 
He felt the strong minority communities were the Jewish and the black 
communities, and the last thing that should happen was that they should 
be turned against each other. He never gave up.''
  He and his wife Susan raised two talented children, Michelle and 
Arthur, and always had time for me and my family whenever we visited 
New Orleans. And when my career took me to the House of 
Representatives, he hosted receptions in his home, introducing me to 
his friends.
  My most vivid memory of Donnie comes from that leadership institute 
in the summer of 1958. On one of the first days of the program, we took 
some time off to play softball. When Donnie came to the plate for the 
first time, he laid down a perfect bunt and raced to first base. As he 
reached the bag, he stumbled, landed hard and suffered a concussion. 
Near the end of the 2-week institute, we played softball again. Donnie 
now recovered from a serious injury, came back up to bat. On the first 
pitch, he laid down a bunt identical to the one on the play when he had 
been hurt, and beat the throw to first. Donnie was not intimidated by 
adversity. He never backed off from a challenge and he lived his life 
at full speed.
  Donnie Mintz touched the lives of many people. His city, his State 
and his Nation are better because of him. He will be missed.

                          ____________________