[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 114 (Thursday, August 5, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1781]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO AMALIA DISTENFELD

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CAROLYN McCARTHY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 5, 1999

  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute 
to the inspiring matriarch of an American family. Amalia Distenfeld, 
Born in Lvov, Poland, in August 1919, came to this country in 1947, to 
start a new life. She and her husband, the late Dr. Menachem 
Distenfeld, were among a handful of survivors of two very extensive and 
well-known families that perished in the Holocaust.
  Amalia is living testimony to her own courage and the possibilities 
of the American dream. Hard work, coupled with purpose, optimism and an 
unfailing dedication to family allowed her to see children, 
grandchildren, and great-grandchildren thrive in this country of 
freedom. She has dedicated her life to promoting educational and moral 
values that have helped guide and sustain her family.
  The same tenacity that allowed Amalia and Menachem to survive the 
nightmare of the Holocaust enabled this young couple to surmount the 
struggle of a new beginning in New York, devoid of resources, in a 
strange environment with three children. Amalia took in boarders, 
cooked and cleaned for them, while her husband learned the language of 
their new country, then studied and reestablished himself as a 
physician. Her strength, her faith in God and her refusal to be crushed 
by the past, allowed for a quick integration into American life. Amalia 
worked with Menachem in their Queens, New York, office to establish a 
medical practice whose hallmark was selfless public service to the 
community at large, including a great many fellow survivors. 
Unfortunately, just as life's promises were being realized, she was 
left a young widow. Without her beloved Menachem, Amalia natural 
exuberance and steadfast commitment to family has sustained her over 
the last 33 years. She took on new challenges and new careers of public 
service, first in the American Heart Association and then the American 
Lung Association, where she worked well into her late seventies.
  Perhaps Amalia's greatest joy is derived from the achievements of her 
children and grandchildren in areas of education, technology, law, 
medicine, and business. She cherishes her time with them as they do 
with her. Mr. Speaker, Amalia is a living lesson of courage, hope and 
optimism to all who know her. Her children's fidelity to Amalia's 
religious legacy and their appreciation for America's blessings were 
learned at her knee.
  I ask my colleagues in the United States Congress to join me in 
wishing Amalia Distenfeld good health and happiness on the occasion of 
her 80th birthday, with many wonderful and blessed years to come.

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