[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 7, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E181-E182]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING THE INCREDIBLE SERVICE OF SOPHIE PABIS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 7, 2023

  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an incredible 
milestone reached by Sophie Graczewski Pabis of Enfield, Connecticut, 
who turns 100 on March 13, 2023. A lifelong resident of Enfield, Sophie 
has lived out what it means to be a first-generation American, 
purposing her time on this earth with patriotic-, service- and 
community-oriented acts. She is a model citizen who we all ought to 
honor.
  Born 1923, to Polish immigrants John and Helen Graczewski, Sophie 
learned early on the value of humble living and hard work. Growing up 
on a farm with two sisters and four brothers, Sophie worked on the 
fields to support her family throughout the Great Depression. She began 
her education in a one room schoolhouse and eventually moved on to 
Hazardville Grammar School and later Enfield High School, where she 
graduated in 1940.
  Her first two jobs, in 1941, were at an ice cream parlor and a 
company that made electric switches, beginning the latter in September 
of that year. Her life trajectory changed, however, with the attack on 
Pearl Harbor and our nation's entry into the Second World War. Sophie 
felt an immediate calling to join the global effort. She rolled up her 
sleeves

[[Page E182]]

and by March 1942 applied for training at Pratt and Whitney, enlisting 
as one of the iconic, ``Rosie the Riveters.''
  Beginning at age 19, Sophie picked up 6 shifts a week as a drill 
press operator and then turret lathe through to the end of the war. 
Equipped with the symbolism of the all-too-known uniform--the blue 
overalls, head turban, and her own toolbox--Sophie was one of the 
Homefront heroes our nation relied upon during the war. Many of us in 
this chamber know that Allied Forces won the war due to the United 
States' ability to outproduce the Axis Powers. That is in thanks to 
citizens like Sophie.
  The importance of Sophie's service at Pratt and Whitney cannot be 
overstated. That is why a part of her story is already archived in the 
World War II Home Front National Park Museum. However, we also ought to 
recognize Sophie's diligence in her profession, which instilled even 
further within her a value for hard work and an ability to address 
challenging situations. By 1946, the year following the conclusion of 
the war, Sophie returned to Pratt's engineering office to fill out 
those values. She, like many after the war, also began to settle into a 
new post-war life and met her would-be-husband, Mitchell L. Pabis, who 
also served overseas in Germany. They married in 1948. It was only when 
they began expecting their children that Sophie took time off from 
Pratt & Whitney. Together, they raised their two sons, Mitchell and 
Richard, and remained happily married until Mitchell Senior's 
unfortunate passing in 2001.
  Mr. Speaker, I would also like to bring attention to Sophie's immense 
community presence throughout her life. For example, she has 
volunteered at Saint Adelbert's School library and served as a 
Eucharistic Minister at Saint Adelbert's Church, worked with the Little 
Sisters of the Poor, and has been a member of the American Legion John 
Maciolek Unit 154 Auxiliary for 75 years.
  On March 13, 2023, Sophie will celebrate her 100th birthday. Sophie 
truly does belong to the Greatest Generation, and we can all take from 
her example. I am beyond honored to represent constituents of such 
quality. To that end, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating her 
incredible, continuing life by recognizing this milestone of hers.

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