[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 165 (Wednesday, September 23, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E873]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 REMEMBRANCE OF MR. VINCENT GIEDRAITIS

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                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 23, 2020

  Mr. COURTNEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to share a remembrance of 
Mr. Vincent Giedraitis, a member of the ``Greatest Generation'' from 
Vernon, Connecticut who passed away at the age of 95 on August 10, 
2020. Vin, as he was known to friends and colleagues led an 
extraordinary life, setting an example of how to really succeed by 
balancing family, professional success as an attorney, and service to 
his country at sea in the U.S. Navy.
  Vin balanced a long life full of many interests and hobbies with his 
work, with his valued friendships and his vibrant family life. He was 
an avid skier and fisherman. He enjoyed tennis, ballroom dancing, 
boating, golf and making a yearly batch of wild grape jelly. He played, 
studied and worked with determination and great satisfaction. He 
graduated from New Britain High School and then served in the Navy as a 
radar engineer on the U.S. John Bole destroyer in WWII. In the time 
after the war, he attended Central Connecticut State College and 
graduated from McGill University with a degree in Philosophy. While at 
McGill he met the love of his life, Joyce, and they were married for 
over 70 years. After settling in Connecticut and while raising their 
family, he went on to earn his Law Degree at the UConn School of Law. 
He went on to work for IBM, Aetna Insurance, Fuller Brush and then 
established his own private law practice in Hartford. He became a 
Public Defender for the City of Hartford and then for the town of 
Vernon-Rockville.
  Madam Speaker, I had a chance to see Vin's work in the Public 
Defender's Office up close over the years. As a law school intern who 
worked in the Hartford Superior Court, I helped interview clients and 
witnesses and assisted him during court hearings and trials. After 
passing the bar I continued to work with Vin as a public defender 
myself and in private practice. As most people know, public defenders 
have to grapple with high caseloads, sometimes difficult clients and 
limited resources to fully investigate cases. Sometimes public 
defenders succumb to viewing their role as moving cases along, and not 
pursuing the fullest defense possible. Not Vin. He took his oath and 
the constitutional duty under the Sixth Amendment to provide effective 
assistance of counsel to the fullest degree possible. I saw him press 
judges and prosecutors harder than they were normally accustomed in his 
pursuit of fairness and equal justice. It gave me a true insight into 
his strong character, which I admired deeply. As friendly and affable a 
person as he was, he had a spine of steel that was always centered on 
ethics and compassion.
  Madam Speaker, Vin was devoted to his amazing, impressive wife Joyce, 
their eight children and many grandchildren who all loved him dearly 
and mourn his passing. Madam Speaker, I would ask the members to join 
me in honoring the wonderful life and legacy of Vincent Giedraitis.

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