[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Pages 29480-29481]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   DR. JOHN O. LUSINS OF ONEONTA, NY

 Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, a milestone will occur on 
Wednesday, December 15th, while the Senate is in recess, which I do not 
want to go unacknowledged. Dr. John O. Lusins of Oneonta, New York will 
celebrate his sixtieth birthday. In his five decades, this New Yorker 
has grown from a childhood war refugee into a beloved husband, devoted 
physician, respected oenophile, and caring father of five children. 
Suffice to say, Dr. Lusins has accomplished the American dream. I wish 
him hearty congratulations on this achievement.
  Named after his physician father, John O. Lusins was born December 
15th, 1939 in the Baltic country of Latvia. At age twelve, John and his 
mother, Elza, immigrated to the United States after being displaced for 
several years as a result of World War II. Seeking a better life after 
witnessing the atrocities in Europe, the two lived briefly in 
Greensboro, North Carolina before settling in Yonkers, New York.
  John entered the Andrus Home for Children at age fifteen, and proved 
himself to be an anomaly among his peers by graduating from Charles E. 
Gorton High School in 1958. With continued perseverance, Lusins, under 
the aegis of a SURDNA scholarship, went on to graduate from Columbia 
University in 1963 and the Albany School of Medicine in 1967.
  During these years, John not only excelled academically but proved 
himself as an athlete, leader, and a patriot. Throughout his collegiate 
career, John powered Columbia's varsity crew down the Harlem River and 
was named captain for his senior year in 1962. Following his junior 
year, however, Lusins was called to military duty in Germany as the 
Soviets erected the Berlin Wall. After fulfilling his military 
obligations, he returned to New York and subsequently finished college.
  Before leaving for Berlin, John met a dashing young lady by the name 
of Anna Marie Dahlgard Bistany. Upon his return, the two promptly fell 
in love and were married on the 17th of

[[Page 29481]]

August, 1963. Their first children were two daughters: Gillian, born in 
1964, and Noelle in 1966. Three boys followed: Carl in 1968, John in 
1973, and, finally, Matthew in 1976.
  The family moved over the years, from Yonkers to Bronxville, finally 
making Oneonta their home in 1982. Filling a needed void, John 
established his neurology practice at Oneonta's A.O. Fox Hospital in 
the same year. Since then, Lusins and his practice, now the multi-
partner Catskill Neurodiagnostics and MRI, has become one of Central 
New York's finest and most respected medical centers.
  Revered not only for his medical capabilities, Dr. Lusins has also 
established himself as a prominent American asset to the world of fine 
wine. Equipped with erudition and a discerning palate, this afficionado 
is not only a member of the prestigious New York Commandeire de 
Bordeaux but has proficiently ascended the ranks of the Confrerie des 
Chevaliers du Tastevin to become their distinguished Delegue General of 
the Northeast. Dedicated to these roles, Dr. Lusins educates family, 
colleagues, and all constituents about the intricacies and appreciation 
of wine. This significant task should not be taken lightly, as our 
Founding Framer and President Thomas Jefferson once noted:

       By making this wine vine known to the public, I have 
     rendered my country as great a service as if I had enabled it 
     to pay back the national debt. . . Its extended use will 
     carry health and comfort to a much enlarged circle.

  With the gathering of all his friends and family, I wish Dr. Lusins a 
splendid sixtieth birthday and continued success in all his 
endeavors.

                          ____________________