[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 174 (Thursday, November 10, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RECOGNIZING JOE SANTARLASCI

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ERIC SWALWELL

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 10, 2022

  Mr. SWALWELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today with Congresswoman Yvette 
Clarke to recognize the life of Joseph ``Joe'' Howard Santarlasci, Jr., 
a decorated Vietnam veteran, investment banker, professor, and thought 
leader who passed away on October 29, 2022 in Brooklyn, NY.
  Born and raised in Philadelphia, Joe graduated from Malvern Prep in 
1963, Brown University in 1967, and the University of Virginia Darden 
School of Business in 1973. Joe was in ROTC at Brown and served his 
country as a Navy Lieutenant from 1967 to 1971 with two tours of active 
duty in Vietnam. He was part of the ``brown water navy'' and got his 
jump wings. Joe was also awarded the Vietnamese Medal of Honor. He was 
the duty officer during the recovery of the Apollo 11 astronauts when 
they splashed down in the Pacific on July 24, 1969 and carried ``the 
football'' during the mission. Joe followed in the footsteps of his 
father Joseph Howard Santarlasci, a fighter pilot who was shot down 
numerous times during World War II.
  After graduation from UVA, Joe started his first job as an investment 
banker at First Chicago. On the weekends, he was a fly half for the USA 
Eagles rugby team. He then moved to New York City, where he specialized 
in M&A at several leading investment banks.
  Joe moved to Washington, D.C. in 1985 to co-found the turnaround 
management firm Whitby, Santarlasci & Co., Inc. with Von Whitby of Salt 
Lake City, Utah. He took great pride in restructuring companies with 
the goal of saving as many jobs as possible.
  From 2013 to 2019, Joe taught Entrepreneurial Finance at Bryant 
University in Smithfield, RI. After he stopped teaching, he stayed in 
touch with his students and continued to help them along their 
journeys. He then co-founded the Brown University Veterans Alumni 
Council. Under his leadership, Brown extended need-blind admission to 
veterans and eliminated the estimated family contribution, replacing it 
with scholarship, enabling Brown to meet the total cost of attendance 
for qualified veterans.
  In 2021, Joe moved to Brooklyn, NY to be closer to his sons Nicolas 
and Marco. Seeing how bereft Joe was feeling without his students, 
Marco showed Joe how to use Twitter, where he became a leading voice 
for tolerance, kindness and justice. News of his death trended as 
#RIPJoe, was liked by over 50,000 people and commented upon by more 
than 7,000. Everyone who knew him treasured his heart, intellect, and 
quick wit.
  In addition to his father and son, Joe was predeceased by his mother 
Rosemary Theresa Donovan Santarlasci. He is missed by his wife of 34 
years, Elizabeth Ann Stanton (Betsy Santarlasci); their sons Nicolas 
Donovan Santarlasci (Rachel ``Rai'' Manning) and Marco Foster 
Santarlasci of Brooklyn, NY; brother Stephen Michael Santarlasci 
(Eileen Taubman) of Paoli, PA; and Stephen's daughter Michelle 
Santarlasci Carini (John) and their children Cecelia and Anthony of 
Malvern, PA.

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