[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 62 (Wednesday, May 15, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E812]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN MEMORY OF SHARON L. MONSKY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. LOIS CAPPS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 15, 2002

  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember Ms. Sharon L. 
Monsky, a resident of Santa Barbara, California, who was renowned as an 
advocate on behalf of persons with the disease scleroderma.
  Sharon passed away on the night of May 11, and is survived by her 
three children Max, Samantha, Montana, and their father, her husband, 
Mark Scher. The legacy she leaves behind is inspiring to us all.
  In her youth, Sharon was a nationally ranked figure skater and a top 
United States Olympic contender. In 1965, she was the youngest female 
figure skater to ever have received the Senior Ladies Gold Medal 
Compulsory Award.
  She went on to become a successful international business consultant, 
and received her MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of 
Business in 1980.
  The distinguished San Francisco management-consulting firm, McKinsey 
and Company Inc., offered Sharon a coveted position, and she was 
immediately on track to being one of the youngest women partners in 
McKinsey's history. When in 1983, she was diagnosed with systemic 
scleroderma, and was given two years to live.
  Defying all odds, Sharon spent the next 21 years educating all of us 
about scleroderma. Through her timeless efforts she brought national 
awareness to this debilitating disease, which affects 500,000 people 
annually. And she helped increase federal support for research on 
scleroderma.
  In 1987, she founded the Santa Barbara-based Scleroderma Research 
Foundation, which is committed to raising awareness of the disease. The 
Foundation is one of a kind, the only one in our nation dedicated to 
finding a cure for the disease; it is a blend of science, research, 
private funding, and political leadership.
  But largely due to Sharon's work, there is now a National Scleroderma 
Awareness Month, and she initiated the Cool Comedy-Hot Cuisine, a 
benefit gala designed to raise scleroderma awareness. She also leaves 
behind two research centers: The San Francisco Bay Area Scleroderma 
Research Center at UCSF and the East Coast Scleroderma Research Center 
at Johns Hopkins in Boston. Research for the disease has steadily 
increased to the current level of $8.3 million, also attributable to 
Sharon's unwavering efforts. In addition, she served two four-year 
terms on the National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases 
advisory council of the National Institutes of Health.
  At the age of 48, Sharon accomplished in half a century's time what 
many active individuals in excellent health are not able to achieve in 
a lifetime. Selflessly she sought out a cure for the disease, on behalf 
of future scleroderma patients and their families.
  She was a beloved daughter, sister, wife, mother, businesswoman, and 
health advocate. She will indeed be missed but will be remembered for 
years to come.

                          ____________________