[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 132 (Thursday, October 19, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1862]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    MEMORIAL TRIBUTE TO MARK HALLER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GRACE F. NAPOLITANO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 19, 2000

  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I pay tribute to Mr. Mark Haller, an 
outstanding individual who passed away on October 10, 2000 at the age 
of 87.
  Mr. Haller was born on June 27, 1913, of a Serbo-croation immigrant 
mother newly arrived in Steelton, Pennsylvania. Orphaned at the age of 
five when his mother passed away, Mr. Haller found himself surrounded 
with politically aware immigrant men from Central Europe while being 
raised by a foster mother in a boarding house. Mr. Haller left his 
foster home as a teenager and hitch-hiked to Seattle, Washington, where 
he became active in grassroots politics.
  Mr. Haller was an active participant in the union movement, and the 
peace, civil rights and feminist movements of the 1960's. In 1961, Mr. 
Haller and his wife, Frankie, a very dear friend of mine, co-founded 
the Midway Democratic Club to function as an issues oriented Democratic 
Party Club. Since that time, the Midway Club has met every month, and 
until recently, the Midway Newsletter has featured Mr. Haller's monthly 
columns. For the last six years of his working life, he was union 
representative for the members of the Association of Western Pulp and 
Paper Workers at the Longview Fibre Company in Bell, California.
  In addition to his passion for political activism, Mr. Haller was 
also well known for his dedication to his family. He is survived by 
Frankie, his wife of 52 years, his sons, Michael and Marko, 
granddaughter, Regina Allen, grandsons Michael and Kenneth, his dog, 
Buddha and cat, Snoopy.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues today to join me and Mark Haller's 
family and friends in paying tribute to an outstanding American whose 
lifelong dedication and zeal exemplified the highest ideals of 
citizenship.

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