[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 103 (Thursday, July 22, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        IN MEMORY OF NEIL HAVENS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 22, 2004

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the memory of 
Neil Havens, former postmaster of my hometown of Simi Valley, 
California, and a man for whom community was family and who epitomized 
the spirit of Simi Valley.
  Neil Havens died peacefully Friday at the age of 74 in his favorite 
chair in the home he and his wife, Pat, moved into soon after they 
married in 1951. A fourth-generation Simi Valley native, Neil was 
appointed postmaster by President Dwight Eisenhower, taking over from 
his father, Charles Reuben Havens. His grandfather, Charles Albert 
Havens, also delivered the post in Simi Valley.
  And while his 30-year reign as postmaster guaranteed him a place in 
Simi Valley's history, it was Neil's commitment to community that 
guaranteed him a place in the hearts of all who knew him.
  Neil Havens was a longtime Rotarian. He served as president of the 
Rotary Club of Simi Valley twice. He was one of the founding members of 
the Simi Valley Education Foundation. He served on the board of the 
Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center Foundation. He was a member of the 
Salvation Army Disaster Team. He raised money for Simi Valley Hospital. 
He was active in the U.S. Naval Reserve. And the list goes on.
  But that is not what people talk about when they talk about Neil 
Havens. They talk about his firm handshake and his ready smile framed 
by a trademark jawline beard. They talk about how many friends he had 
and how he called every week. They talk about how their lawn was 
mysteriously mowed when they fell ill, to find out later that it was 
Neil who wielded the mysterious mower. They talk about how he visited 
sick friends every day they were ill and looked after their family once 
they passed.
  Neil Havens defined community as family. And Neil looked after his 
family.
  Neil is survived by his wife, Pat, herself a community icon. She and 
Neil graduated together from Simi Valley High School in 1947 and raised 
three children in Simi Valley, Debra, Barbara and Russ. The City 
Council named Pat as Simi Valley's first City Historian while I was 
mayor of the city, a post she still holds along with Director of the 
Strathearn Historical Park and Museum.
  In addition, Neil is survived by four grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, I know my colleagues join me in sending our condolences 
to Pat Havens, their children and grandchildren, and pause in 
remembering a man whose family extended far beyond the bonds of blood 
and whose life embraced all who knew him. Godspeed, Neil.

                          ____________________