[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 141 (Tuesday, October 31, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING LION IRVING STRAVITZ OCTOBER 2, 1912-DECEMBER 19, 1998

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                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 31, 2000

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Lion Irving 
Stravitz, who passed away on December 19,1998.
  Irving Stravitz was raised in Brooklyn and, as a child, loved to work 
with his hands. He became a carpenter at a very young age and always 
had his own business.
  He met and married Eva, who became his partner in Lionism and life. 
She served side by side with him through thick and thin for the sixty-
three years of their marriage. Together, they raised two children, 
David and Renee, who bestowed upon them the loves of their lives: two 
grandchildren, Allison and Matthew.
  Irving was emblematic of the drive that Lion Melvin Jones, one of the 
founding members of Lionism, exhibited. Irving became a member of the 
Hyde Park Lions Club and served the Club by holding every office up to 
and including President. He was elected to the position of Deputy 
District Governor of District 20-K1. Mid-stream, Irving transferred 
into the Brooklyn Canarsie Lions Club and served for the remainder of 
his thirty years. He received Certificates of Appreciation, plaques 
that honored his dedication and was the first Lion in the Club to be 
presented with the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award.
  His love and dedication will keep him in our hearts forever. Irving 
Stravitz was a Pin Trader and Pin Maker. His special project was the 
Vacation Camp for the Blind where his skill as a carpenter proved 
invaluable. He was involved with the Little League and ran the Hyde 
Park Lions Club's annual football pool fundraiser.
  In the final words of Marc Antony's eulogy of Julius Caesar, 
``Indeed, this was a man.'' Mr. Speaker, I join with his friends and 
loved ones in saying'' ``Irving, indeed you were a man and one of 
Lionism's finest tributes.''
  Mr. Speaker, Lion Irving Stravitz is more than worthy of receiving 
our recognition today, and I hope that all of my colleagues will join 
me in honoring this truly remarkable man.

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