[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 39 (Thursday, April 7, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO SHERMAN W. DREISESZUN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 6, 2005

  Mr. MOORE of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Sherman W. Dreiseszun, of Leawood, Kansas, who on May 14, 2005, at 
Kehilath Israel Synagogue of Overland Park, Kansas, will celebrate his 
Second Bar Mitzvah.
  On May 25, 1935, at Voliner Synagogue of Overland Park, Sherman W. 
Dreiseszun, the son of Sam and Bertha Dreiseszun, was called to the 
Torah to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah and take his place as an adult in 
the Jewish Community.
  The Old Testament defines a person's life as three score and ten 
(seventy years). Since the age of Bar Mitzvah is thirteen, when a man 
has the good fortune to reach his eighty-third birthday, he has earned 
the right to celebrate his Second Bar Mitzvah.
  Sherman's commitment to Judaism and to Kehilath Israel Synagogue was 
deeply rooted in the promise he made during his service in World War 
II. Sherman was a waist gunner in the Air Force, and the plane to which 
he was assigned was forced to ditch in the Atlantic. While in the 
ocean, hoping to be rescued, Sherman pledged that if he was saved from 
that peril, he would commit himself to Judaism, his Synagogue, and to 
the Jewish community.
  Sherman made good on that promise, first by becoming the youngest 
President of Kehilath Israel to ever hold that position in 1959 and 
1960, and then being re-elected President in 1978 for an additional 
term. He has worked for and led numerous organizations, reaching out to 
improve individual lives in the Jewish community. Sherman's dynamic 
work on behalf of Kehilath Israel, the Jewish community and the overall 
Kansas City community has created a new face for the entire 
metropolitan landscape.
  Sherman has been the backbone and the lifeline for Kehilath Israel 
Synagogue. To show the respect that the congregation has for Sherman, 
he has been designated as Honorary President for Life.
  On July 7, 1946, Sherman married Irene Friedman. Irene and Sherman 
will be celebrating their 59th wedding anniversary this summer. Irene 
also will be celebrating her 80th birthday on August 25, 2005.
  Irene and Sherman are the parents of the late Barbara Dreiseszun, the 
late Richard Dreiseszun; daughter-in-law Gail Dreiseszun of Shawnee 
Mission, Kansas; and of daughter and son-in-law Helone and Marshall 
Abrams of Denver, Colorado. Their grandchildren Brooke and James Levy 
and Erica and Evan Fisher all reside in New York City.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity to pay public tribute 
to Sherman W. Dreiseszun, who has been the backbone and the lifeline of 
both his Synagogue and his community at large. I congratulate him on 
his upcoming Second Bar Mitzvah and congratulate him and Irene on their 
upcoming 59th anniversary.

                          ____________________