[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 85 (Wednesday, June 11, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1202]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       RECOGNIZING GEORGINA SUAREZ GONZALEZ AND LUIS L. GONZALEZ

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. CHRIS BELL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 10, 2003

  Mr. BELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Georgina Suarez Gonzalez and 
Luis L. Gonzalez on the occasion of their fortieth wedding anniversary.
  Both Georgina and Luis Gonzalez were born in Havana, Cuba. Mrs. 
Gonzalez came to the United States in 1947 to enter into religious 
study. She graduated from the College of New Rochelle in New York, a 
college rich with Ursuline heritage. After completing her education, 
Georgina realized she had fallen in love with her new country and 
decided to stay to make a life in the United States. Although she dated 
Luis in her youth in Cuba, her determination to live the American dream 
and Luis's plans to stay in Cuba made marriage an unlikely scenario.
  Luis Gonzalez attended the University of Havana in 1945, the same 
year Fidel Castro entered the university. Like so many Cuban patriots 
and students during the politically turbulent and corrupt years of 
General Fulgencio Batista, Luis fought for a more democratic and 
independent nation. As is known from history, the dictatorship of 
Batista was followed by the dictatorship of Fidel Castro.
  Facing political persecution, Luis fled Cuba in December 1960 to 
begin his new life in America. Finally, Georgina and Luis found 
themselves in the same country and in love.
  Mr. and Mrs. Gonzalez married on June 10, 1963 in Westphalia, 
Missouri. Monsignor Kutz performed the wedding ceremony. After they 
married, Georgina left her job on Wall Street to join her new husband 
in Houston where he was employed with Dow Chemical. They settled in 
Houston's Sharpstown area and began a family.
  In addition to raising three children, Georgina enjoyed a successful 
career with Prudential Insurance Company of America. She became the 
first woman in the nation to lead the company in insurance sales. Luis 
joined Georgina at Prudential in 1967 where they worked together to 
build a strong family insurance business.
  Georgina and Luis Gonzalez are true reminders of the power and 
promise of the American dream. The couple immigrated to this country, 
raised three loving children, and built a strong, flourishing business. 
Together with their children, John Michael, Ana Maria and Luis Gaston 
and grandchildren, Carolina Andrea Wood, William Alexander Wood, and 
Gabriella Grace Gonzalez, I congratulate Georgina and Luis Gonzalez on 
their fortieth wedding anniversary.

                          ____________________