[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 9, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2589-S2590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO LEO MONTOYA

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, as we move through life, certain people 
leave a lasting impression, and I rise today to recognize one of them. 
Leo Montoya, a citizen of Utah, is an exceptional man who has impressed 
me with his commitment to family, faith, and community.
  In 1928, the year Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, Leo was 
born on June 4 as the seventh of nine siblings to Epifanio and 
Decideria (Gutierrez) Montoya. Decideria's family roots were in New 
Mexico, where she raised her family as head of household in La Jara and 
Lumberton. Decideria worked outside the home, so her daughters took 
care of their youngest siblings while the older brothers contributed to 
support the family any way they could. The family lived under extreme 
poverty and hardship in La Jara until Leo's 14-year-old brother, 
Candido, traveled 90 miles north to find work in the Lumberton coal 
mines.
  Candido saved his meager earnings to buy a small ranch to support his 
mother and siblings with the help of his younger brothers, Jose and 
Eudoro, who also worked in the mines. Jose had only one arm but loaded 
coal shovel-for-shovel against any other worker. Both Candido and 
Eudoro served in the military during WWII, and Leo, Tony, and Elisandro 
served during the Korean war. Leo's oldest child, Tereso, was born 
during the Korean war.
  It is Utah's good fortune that the entire Montoya family eventually 
settled in Utah. They are hard-working, honest, and enterprising people 
who value God, family, and country above all else. Leo is the last of 
them, and it is fitting that his achievements and contributions to Utah 
are recognized. Leo is a true American success story.
  While serving in the Army, Leo met the love of his life at a small 
town dance, Rebecca Manzanares, of Monticello, UT. They were married in 
the Glendale neighborhood of Salt Lake City and together raised 11 
children: Leona, Jay, Guy, Luben, Jim, Tanya, Reba, Leo, Max, Toni, and 
Belen. Leo worked at Hall Process Company for $1.45 an hour, but he and 
Rebecca still managed to invest a small fortune in real estate.
  Where some saw oppression and exploitation, Leo and Rebecca saw 
opportunity and fortune, teaching their children that they could obtain 
and achieve anything America offered if they worked hard, became 
educated, and stayed out of trouble. Their children succeeded in 
different ways and remain powerfully united as a loving and supportive 
family unit.
  Leo also contributed to the Salt Lake community. Beginning in 1965, 
he began encouraging young boys to discipline themselves through sports 
in his Glendale neighborhood. At first, Leo trained young boys on a 
punching bag hung under a tree in his side yard, where he could keep an 
eye on them while he worked. By 1970, boys started showing up in larger 
numbers, many of them troubled youth from broken homes, so Leo began 
holding daily practice in church and school gymnasiums to give the boys 
something to do after school.
  By 1975, his boxing team had more than 20 members that he took to 
compete in tournaments throughout the intermountain area and beyond--
all at his own expense. By 1980, Leo knew he needed something more 
permanent for the boys, so he bought an old secondhand store in Salt 
Lake's Guadalupe neighborhood and converted it into the Leo Montoya 
Boxing Club, which still welcomes young male and female boxers.
  Leo supports his Guadalupe neighborhood in other ways as well. In the 
winter, he plows the sidewalks of the Boys and Girls Club on 600 West 
and 300 North, as well as the sidewalks for his elderly neighbors. Leo 
regularly patrols the Guadalupe neighborhood in his golf cart to keep 
his community clean and safe. Virtually every resident and 
businessowner in the neighborhood appreciates Leo's vigilance.
  In 2012, Leo was celebrated in one of Utah's major newspapers under 
the Salt Lake Tribune headline: ``In His West-side Gym, Leo Montoya 
Turns Boys Into Men.'' In 2013, Leo's contributions to the neighborhood 
were featured on the front page of the Deseret News under the headline: 
``Community Celebrates Boxing Coach's 85th Birthday, Impact on 
Neighborhood.'' A quote in the Tribune article might have best captured 
what makes Leo unique and such a treasure as he contemplates: ``It 
makes me feel great that I've been accomplishing something nice (and 
helped) somebody . . .

[[Page S2590]]

Everybody wants to get paid for everything. Somebody's gotta do 
something for nothing.''
  Leo has also been a dear friend to me for many years, and he proved 
it by posting my 6-by-9-foot campaign posters in front of his gymnasium 
for every one of my reelection efforts over the past 33 years. His gym 
is located in a predominantly Democrat neighborhood. Leo's son, Luben, 
and daughter-in-law, Ruthie, have been like family to me for more than 
30 years, and I had the privilege of blessing his grandson and 
namesake, Leo, 24 years ago. Elaine and I have also truly enjoyed the 
company of Leo and Rafelita over the years.
  From helping his brothers in the coal mines and train yards at 14 
years old, to supporting his community and building a small business 
empire, Leo is truly deserving of recognition as a great American 
success story. I am proud of Leo and his family, and I am very grateful 
for his contributions to his community, to Salt Lake City, and to Utah. 
In this, the year of his 90th birthday, I welcome this body in joining 
me to wish Leo many more years of good health and happiness.

                          ____________________