[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 3 (Thursday, January 9, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S125]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        LEON WEINER, IN MEMORIUM

 Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I would like to set aside a moment 
to reflect on the life of Mr. Leon N. Weiner upon his passing. Leon was 
a good friend and a man who made remarkable contributions toward 
affordable housing for thousands of families in Delaware and many more 
beyond our state's borders. He was a man with a kind heart, diverse 
interests, great abilities, and boundless energy.
  Leon was born in Philadelphia, PA. After graduating from Overbrook 
High School, he attended the University of Pennsylvania for 3 years 
before leaving to take up a job as an apprentice machinist at 
Westinghouse Electric Corp. in Essington, PA.
  After serving his country in the Army Air Corps during World War II, 
Leon came to Delaware and joined his uncle in building Leedom Estates 
near New Castle. This was one of the first suburban housing projects in 
New Castle County and the first of more than 5,000 houses that Leon 
built across New Castle County during his 54-year career. At the age of 
53, he turned his attention to the challenge of building housing for 
low- and moderate-income families and seniors.
  A very colorful character, Leon spoke with a booming voice and always 
wore suspenders, something that became his trademark. To the end of his 
days his office was filled with honorary gavels, keys to cities, and 
pictures of him with leading Democratic figures. In 1979 he was 
inducted to the National Housing Hall of Fame and subsequently was 
given the National Housing Man of the Year Award. His appointment to 
the Kaiser Commission on Urban Housing led to the landmark Housing Act 
of 1968.
  Leon leaves behind his wife of 53 years, Helen; as well as a 
stepdaughter; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. He also 
leaves behind many friends, colleagues and several thousand families 
who are living more productive, satisfying lives today because Leon was 
committed to building affordable housing.
  Leon's lifelong dream was that low-income seniors and families would 
have the opportunity to afford their own homes, in the communities they 
called home. He lived to see that dream largely fulfilled.
  Leon's legacy will live on in the lives of those he helped shape, in 
the rooms of affordable low-income housing he helped build, and in the 
hearts of those who were lucky enough to call him their friend. I rise 
today to commemorate Leon's life, to celebrate his life, and to offer 
his family our support and our thanks for sharing with the rest of us a 
truly remarkable human being. Although a resident of nearby 
Pennsylvania, Leon embodied the best of Delaware where his firm, Leon 
Weiner and Associates, was headquartered. He will be sorely missed. I 
know he can never be replaced.

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