[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21373]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 CELEBRATING THE 90TH BIRTHDAY OF PEARL SCHENKLER, AN EXEMPLARY CITIZEN

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                         HON. GARY L. ACKERMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 27, 2005

  Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Pearl Schenkler, a 
rare and special woman on the occasion of her 90th birthday.
  Pearl was born in 1915 in New York City to immigrant parents. The 
second of four daughters in a family that truly lived the American 
dream, Pearl learned from the example of her parents. Her father, a 
steelworker, and her mother, a homemaker, unique in their commitment to 
education, insisted on sending each of their four daughters to college. 
Inspired by her two younger sisters, Pearl graduated college and became 
a teacher in the New York Public School System. Pearl spent the first 
part of her career teaching the second grade in P.S. 221 in Harlem and 
finished her remarkable career of service not far from my childhood 
home at P.S. 154 in Queens.
  Her commitment to teaching and molding her students was second only 
to her efforts in raising a strong family. Pearl and her husband Max 
were married for more than 50 years. He, too, was an educator and 
together they taught and learned. Their two children, my friends Carole 
Jacobson and Michael Schenkler, are illustrations of how the important 
values that weave the fabric of our city have been nurtured by children 
of immigrant parents and shared with the next generation. Pearl 
Schenkler gave her children the same meaningful start her parents gave 
to her.
  Carole and Michael and their many cousins, all of whom I have the 
pleasure of knowing, are part of the wonderful story of our great 
country. Pearl Schenkler, her parents, her husband, her sisters and 
brothers-in-law helped to build my home borough of Queens into a beacon 
of learning and understanding. In 1954, Pearl and Max moved their 
family from the Bronx to Kew Gardens Hills. Soon, Pearl's parents and 
eventually all her siblings called that neighborhood their home. The 
borough of Queens, New York was the beneficiary of the talent, 
knowledge and kindness the family shared with their neighbors and the 
greater community.
  In one of the great tradition of those before them, Pearl and Max, 
like so many other New Yorkers, eventually retired to Florida, where 
Pearl quickly took to working for others and joined the Boca Chapter of 
B'nai B'rith Women. She became the editor of the Boca Raton Clarion, 
the organization's newspaper, winning nationwide awards for the best 
publication from some four hundred chapters of B'nai B'rith. Pearl 
began spending countless hours helping local children who were sick or 
in need, as well as helping to fund the construction of a hospital in 
Israel. She then moved on to become President and led the Boca Raton 
Chapter for a number of years. Even with all of these selfless 
responsibilities, Pearl and Max still made time for family. They 
visited New York often and their kids and grandkids were frequent 
guests in Boca. During his later years, Pearl spent much of her time 
caring for Max, her life companion who passed away after a wonderful 
and fulfilling life at the age of 93.
  Mr. Speaker, as Pearl looks back and treasures her memories of 90 
wonderful years, she will continue to be flanked by family. On October 
8, 2005, her 90th birthday, her children and grandchildren will be with 
her in Florida to celebrate this momentous occasion.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the House of Representatives to 
please rise and join me in congratulating my friend Pearl Schenkler and 
sending her our very best wishes for a very happy 90th birthday.

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