[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 76 (Monday, May 18, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E731-E732]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING THE BRAUN FAMILY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BRAD SHERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 18, 2015

  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a family whose 
commitment to service and Jewish prayer, study and music at my own 
synagogue, Valley Beth Shalom, spans more than six decades. The Braun 
family's dedication to Valley Beth Shalom has enriched the lives of our 
congregation and strengthened our community.
   In 1960, Dick and Barbara Braun became members of Valley Beth 
Shalom. During the past fifty-five years, five generations of the Braun 
family have been involved in Valley Beth Shalom synagogue life. This 
includes, in addition to Dick and Barbara, Dick's mother Elisabeth, 
Dick and Barbara's four children and their spouses--Jon and Lynn, David 
and Sherri (of blessed memory) and Ellen, Robert and Sandra, Sarah and 
Shai, as well as their nine grandchildren and their spouses, and 
finally a great grandchild.
   The contributions of the Braun family to Valley Beth Shalom are 
legend. Dick has sung in the congregational choir and served as Hazzan 
Sheyni since 1968. He has served on the Valley Beth Shalom Board of 
Directors for more than 40 years and also served on the Executive 
Committee. Barbara is also a long time member of the synagogue choir, 
and was an involved member of the Sisterhood and a member of the first 
class of the Valley Beth Shalom Counseling Center where she served for 
over 20 years. Jon and his wife Lynn have also served on the Valley 
Beth Shalom Board of Directors, and Lynn has chaired the Annual Gala 
Event and served on the Executive Committee of the synagogue. David is 
a member of the Valley Beth Shalom Board, the Board of the Schulweis 
Institute and is a Vice-President-elect of the congregation. Nate, one 
of the grandchildren, is secretary of the synagogue's Board, and his 
wife, Effie, is a Board member. In addition to all of the family's 
leadership contributions to the synagogue, members of the Braun family 
have also been generous benefactors of Valley Beth Shalom in support of 
all of its enriching programs.
   The Braun family's contributions to the community reach farther than 
just our congregation: Dick is a general surgeon, who for many

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years was the chief of surgery at Kaiser Permanente in Panorama City. 
Barbara was an elementary school teacher. Among the four children and 
their spouses are four physicians, a mental health therapist, an 
attorney, a teacher and a rabbi. Dick is also the founder and chairman 
of the Jewish Music Commission of Los Angeles, which brings new Jewish 
music into the life of the community. Lynn visits my Washington, D.C. 
office every year to meet with me as an advocate for the American 
Academy of Ophthalmology.
   I am proud to be part of a synagogue that values these contributions 
by honoring the Braun family in their Family of the Year Celebration. 
They are living the legacy of our teacher and late rabbi, Rabbi Harold 
M. Schulweis. I thank the Braun family for their significant 
contributions towards bettering our synagogue and our community.

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