[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 86 (Friday, June 8, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1027]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN HONOR OF MARION OSHER SANDLER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, June 8, 2012

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Marion Osher 
Sandler--a prominent leader, a generous supporter of many humanitarian 
causes, and a dear friend who died June 1st. Her passing is a great 
loss to our community and the nation.
  Marion Osher was born to immigrant parents who valued both business 
and philanthropy and encouraged those values in her as well. When 
Marion married Manhattan lawyer Herb Sandler in 1961, a beautiful 
family and a lifelong partnership in business and philanthropy was 
begun.
  Marion and Herb together turned a two-branch Oakland savings and loan 
into Golden West Financial Corporation, with more than 11,000 
employees. They ran Golden West for 43 years, she, the marketing and 
consumer brains of the firm, he the strategist. Marion Sandler was the 
first and longest serving woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company in the 
United States.
  The Sandlers' success enabled them to give back to the community by 
funding progressive political organizations and non-profits, 
particularly those that uplift the disadvantaged and underserved, such 
as Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union. They 
helped found The Center for Responsible Lending, which is devoted to 
protecting homeowners, The Center for American Progress, and 
ProPublica, an investigative journalism organization.
  Marion and Herb also supported lifesaving medical research, most 
recently donating $20 million to the University of California, San 
Francisco. The Sandler Neurosciences Center will house world leading 
clinical and research programs such as The Institute of 
Neurodegenerative Diseases, the UCSF Department of Neurology, the W.M. 
Keck Foundation Center for Integrative Neuroscience, and the UCSF 
Memory and Aging Center.
  Marion Osher Sandler lived the American dream. With a deep belief in 
a brighter future, she used her enormous gifts and talents to expand 
opportunities for all. She leaves behind a phenomenal legacy of 
service.
  Marion had many friends in the United States Congress. I hope it is a 
comfort to her family, including her beloved husband Herb, her children 
Susan and James, her grandchildren Leah and Elijah, and her brothers 
Bernard and Harold Osher, that so many mourn their loss and appreciate 
Marion's life.

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