[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17412]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO EDGAR UIHLEIN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. PHILIP M. CRANE

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 22, 2004

  Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my friend 
Edgar Uihlein of Northbrook, Illinois.
  I first got to know Ed Uihlein when I was running for Congress for 
the first time in 1969. Ed encouraged me just as he has helped other 
conservative candidates and organizations, including the Leadership 
Institute.
  Ed is a man of extraordinary character. He has worked by the sweat of 
his brow, and he has worked by the labor of his mind. He has taken care 
of his own, and he has fought for what was right. Ed has a spirit of 
adventure and courage. On an impulse, he played hooky from Princeton 
for a full year while he joined his father on a round-the-world tour in 
1936. Ed was in the Navy in World War II, and he took care of his men. 
When the ship's refrigerator broke down during a long stay in a foreign 
port, and the crew had no fresh food for a week, he disappeared for 
half the day, only to return with a barrow full of fresh fish that he 
himself had caught. The whole ship feasted and the next day the coast 
where he had fished was full of American sailors trying their luck.
  Ed married his sweetheart Lucia in 1941, and built his family with 
love and care. Today, his five children have fond memories of their 
parents standing beside their beds, singing duets as they tucked them 
in. Every morning, Ed drove the children to school, and along the way 
he would sing to them. As the children got older, Ed would take turns 
reading books aloud in the evenings, and around the dinner table he 
would talk politics. They could see his concern, and they came to share 
it. In 1956, he paid his kids a penny an envelope to address, stamp and 
seal letters of concern that were sent to every Member of Congress with 
regard to the heroes of the Hungarian Uprising. Today, their five 
children and ten grandchildren are productive, patriotic citizens 
scattered around the country--but, I am happy to say, two of his sons 
are still living in Illinois.
  Ed has made significant financial contributions to individuals, to 
the arts, and to charities both large and small, many of which are 
marked ``anonymous''. I once asked his family for a photograph of him 
and they did not have one. Ed isn't the kind of man who would sit for a 
portrait photo. That modesty is another facet of his distinction as an 
individual.
  Ed, you're a great American. I am honored to call you friend.

                          ____________________