[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 95 (Tuesday, June 23, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF ADELLA URBAN OF COLUMBIA, CONNECTICUT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 23, 2009

  Mr. COURTNEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to 
announce the passing of a friend and true community leader from the 
town of Columbia, Connecticut, Adella Urban. Adella passed away on 
Wednesday, June 17, 2009.
  Born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1933, Adella spent her childhood 
years in Newington before graduating from Newington High School. After 
high school, Adella continued her education receiving numerous 
certificates in municipal government, which became one of the two great 
loves in her life. After settling in Columbia, Connecticut, Adella took 
a job as secretary to the Selectman in town where she remained until 
1971. She then spent a decade as a reporter for the Hartford Courant 
before returning to municipal government in the town of Mansfield.
  In 1985, she assumed the role of First Selectman in her beloved 
Columbia, a position she would hold for 18 years. It was in that role 
as First Selectman, that she flourished as both a leader and public 
servant. Always Columbia's strongest advocate, Adella was tireless in 
her efforts to improve the lives of her fellow citizens and the town 
she loved. Perhaps the greatest testament to her public service was the 
fact that she passed after collapsing while speaking to second graders 
at the Horace Porter School in Columbia about the history of Columbia.
  Although always the dedicated public servant, it was her role as 
mother, grandmother and eventually great-grandmother that she loved 
most of all. She is survived by her five children; Richard, Andrew, 
Marisa, Stefan and Christian, ten grandchildren, and one great-
grandchild.
  While we will mourn her passing, hers is a life that will be 
celebrated and honored by the people of Columbia and the state of 
Connecticut for years to come

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