[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 6791]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO MATTHEW R. DUKSA, SR.

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate the life 
of Matthew R. Duksa, Sr., a Connecticut businessman who passed away on 
November 28, 2002. Mr. Duksa, known as ``Mattie'' to many of his 
friends, was born and raised on Oak Bluff Farm, his family's dairy farm 
in Southington, CT. He graduated from Lewis High School and then 
attended the Cheshire Academy and the Connecticut College of Commerce 
in New Haven. Later, he graduated Magna Cum Laude from the McAllister 
School of Embalming in New York.
  In 1949, Mattie opened the Borawski-Duksa Funeral Home in New 
Britain, CT and began a career providing comfort to families in their 
darkest hours. In 1952, he established the Newington Memorial Funeral 
Home in Newington, CT. He served as president of both firms until his 
death this past November.
  Too often we think of community service as some immediate, 
extraordinary act or some heroic event. But communities are shaped by 
the daily routines and simple acts of kindness and respect that 
citizens display each day. Men like Mattie Duksa--who do difficult jobs 
that need to be done--help to define and reinforce the values of our 
communities. The businesses they run and the lives they lead affect us 
all for the better.
  Outside his business, Mattie had a well-developed sense of civic 
duty. He was a Newington volunteer firefighter for 16 years. He served 
as Director of the Newington Volunteer Ambulance Company. He was 
Chairman of West Meadow Cemetery Expansion and Building Committee. And 
he was a proud member of the Organization of Polish Businessmen.
  The communities he served came to rely on Mattie's gentle 
understanding and his spirit. In 1997, the Newington Chamber of 
Commerce named Mattie ``Business Person of the Year.'' In 2002, the 
funeral homes he founded were honored as ``Family Business of the 
Year'' by the University of Connecticut Family Business Program.
  Mattie and his lifetime of service to his community will be missed, 
but remembered fondly by those who knew him and benefitted from his 
many contributions. I extend my sympathies to his wife Dottie, his son 
Matthew, his daughter Diana Duksa-Kurz, and his grandchildren James, 
Kristy, Johanna, and Jacqueline.

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