[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 64 (Friday, May 17, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E848]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING MR. PAUL ECKE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DARRELL E. ISSA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 16, 2002

  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Mr. Paul 
Ecke, a friend whom I have known for many years. Mr. Ecke, who passed 
away on May 13th, led a truly remarkable life.
  Although he was only 16 years of age when America entered World War 
II in 1941, Paul Ecke served courageously aboard a Navy Destroyer in 
the Pacific theater. Following the war's conclusion in 1945, Mr. Ecke 
attended the Ohio State University where he graduated with a degree in 
horticulture. After graduation, when America found itself embroiled in 
a war against communist aggression in Korea, Mr. Ecke again answered 
America's call by serving as a damage control officer in the China Sea 
for the Navy's 7th Fleet.
  Despite his heroic service in the Navy, Paul Ecke did not choose to 
pursue a career in the military. There is, perhaps, a slight taste of 
irony that this military hero pioneered and championed a symbol, the 
poinsettia, which is synonymous with Christmas and the Holiday season; 
a time when people of many faiths pray for peace among nations and good 
will towards men.
  Mr. Ecke found new techniques of cultivating, genetically 
engineering, and marketing poinsettias. Today, thanks to Mr. Ecke's 
legacy, approximately 60 percent of the world poinsettia market 
consists of licensed varieties developed at the Ecke Ranch. This figure 
includes over 65 million poinsettias sold nationwide last year.
  Mr. Ecke shared the success of his business with many charitable 
causes. His philanthropy in the San Diego area was particularly 
generous: he shared his wealth with local schools and universities, 
deeded land to the state of California for preservation, and took the 
North Coast Family YMCA, which was later renamed after his mother 
Magdalena, under his wing.
  Mr. Speaker, Paul Ecke was my friend. Although I am grieved by his 
passing I, along with the many other lives he touched, take solace in 
knowing that Mr. Ecke's legacy lives on: in the County of San Diego and 
in every home that takes in a poinsettia for the Holiday season.

                          ____________________