[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 211 (Monday, December 15, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1198-E1199]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING THE LIFE OF PAUL DePREY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JARED HUFFMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 15, 2025

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise along with my colleagues, 
Representatives Nancy Pelosi, John Garamendi, Seth Moulton, and Ed Case 
to honor the life and legacy of Paul DePrey, who passed away on October 
10, 2025, at the age of 58. A devoted public servant for more than 30 
years, Paul demonstrated an unwavering commitment to environmental 
stewardship, conservation, and the mission of the National Park 
Service.
  Born in Edmundston, New Brunswick, Paul earned his bachelor's degree 
in history and anthropology from the University of Maine. He later 
moved to Bellingham, Washington, where he completed his master's degree 
in anthropology at Western Washington University. It was during this 
time that he met his wife, Cari Kreshak, whom he married in 1995.
  Paul launched his career as an archaeologist for the USDA Forest 
Service in the Cascade Mountain Range of Oregon and Washington, before 
serving in the USDA Office of the Secretary and the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service. There, Paul contributed to the Northwest Forest Plan, 
the Headwaters Land Exchange, the Presidential Forum at Lake Tahoe, and 
critical efforts to improve federal-tribal relationships and advance 
endangered species conservation.
  In 2001, Paul joined the National Park Service, where he served with 
distinction for nearly twenty-five years. Paul first served as Resource 
Manager at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area and then at Joshua Tree 
National Park. In 2008, Paul became Superintendent of the Pearl Harbor 
National Memorial, where he oversaw the construction of a new visitor 
campus and renovation of the USS Arizona Memorial. During his tenure, 
he worked closely with the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i to 
establish the Honouliuli National Historic Site, a vital preservation 
that remembers the stories of Japanese Americans incarcerated during 
World War II and serves as a powerful reminder of the need to protect 
civil liberties in times of conflict.
  Paul later served as Superintendent of Salem Maritime and Saugus Iron 
Works National Historic Sites, where he acted as the National Park 
Service liaison to the Essex National Heritage Area. Under his 
leadership, Paul expanded visitor access to park resources, addressed 
historic preservation concerns, and broadened interpretive programs to 
include Indigenous, colonial European, and Black histories found in New 
England coastal communities.
  In 2022, Paul was appointed to Superintendent of San Francisco 
Maritime National Historical Park, where he led the complex task of 
temporarily relocating the park's fleet of national historic landmark 
ships to Mare Island, site of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard and the 
Nation's first naval base on the Pacific Ocean.
  Paul was widely admired as an exceptional leader who put people 
first, whether it was a twenty-year veteran of the park or a new 
gateway community member at Mare Island and Vallejo. Paul perfectly 
balanced stewardship and recreation, ensuring the preservation of 
maritime history and culture while also revitalizing and reimagining 
the role of recreation at Aquatic Park. While Paul left us too soon, 
his legacy as a leader and person will endure. Paul is survived by his 
wife, Cari; children, Sebastian and Ronan; his parents and sisters.
  Mr. Speaker, I respectfully ask that you join us in extending 
condolences to Paul's family and many friends and in expressing our 
appreciation for his decades of exemplary public service to our Nation.

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