[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 148 (Monday, November 15, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1885-E1886]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE LIFE AND MANY CONTRIBUTIONS OF JOSEPH P. JARJURA OF 
                         WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 15, 2010

  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Joseph P. 
Jarjura, a Connecticut businessman who passed away earlier last month, 
and to honor both his many contributions to Waterbury and his 
quintessentially American story.
  Born in Zghorta, Lebanon on Christmas Day, 1920, Joseph Jarjura's 
life changed forever when he met the love of his life, Ann George, on a 
trip she took to the land of his birth. The two soon fell in love, 
married, and, returned to her hometown of Waterbury in 1948. Here, they 
would make their home for the next sixty-two years, and here, Joseph 
would become a U.S. citizen. Lebanon's loss was Connecticut's gain.
  In Waterbury, Joseph would go on to found J.P. Jarjura & Sons, a 
thriving wholesale fruit and vegetable distributor. And he would serve 
the people of Waterbury not only as an entrepreneur, but as a citizen. 
Over the years, Joseph helped to found the Ehden Lebanese American Club 
and the Waterbury CrimeStoppers, and he gave his time and effort to the 
Rotary Club, the Exchange Club, and several other civic-minded 
organizations throughout the city.
  As a testament to both his community involvement and his story of 
success through persistence and hard work, the National Ethnic 
Coalition of Organizations bestowed Joseph with their Ellis Island 
Medal of Honor in 1996, an honor previously accorded to Nobel Prize 
winners and United States presidents. Seven years earlier, in 1989, 
Joseph was named mayor for a day by the Lebanese-American community in 
Waterbury--a job his youngest of seven sons, Michael, would be elected 
to fill in 2001, and has held ever since.
  Joseph Jarjura came to America with a dream, and through decades of 
hard work and civic service, he achieved it. His story is our story. As 
we mourn his loss today, we can take solace that he has once again 
followed his late wife Ann across distant shores. And we know that his 
legacy lives on in the love and service of his seven sons--Charles, 
Peter, Arthur, Fred, William, David, and Michael--as well as that of 
his sister Aurore, his sixteen grandchildren, and four great-
grandchildren.
  I offer my deepest condolences to the Jarjura family on their loss, 
as I thank them for Joseph's lifelong commitment to our Waterbury 
community.

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