[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 660-661]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE SERVICE OF MARY LOUISE PLUNKETT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, it is indeed an honor for me to rise here 
today on the floor of the House of Representatives to pay tribute and 
to say thank you to a very close personal friend of mine, Ms. Mary Lu 
Plunkett, one of the most influential people in my life for the past 25 
years and one of the most valued members of the community of Queens 
County in New York State and New York City for more than the last 50 
years.

[[Page 661]]

  I was blessed to meet Mary Lu Plunkett in my early 20s, when I 
stepped into the Queens County Democratic headquarters while running 
errands at the time for my then-Uncle Walter Crowley. That day was the 
start of one of the most important friendships in my personal and 
political life, Madam Speaker. But long before Mary Lu became a valued 
part of my life, she was already a valued and well-established force in 
Queens County and in Queens County Democratic politics.
  Mary Lu was born in Brooklyn, and she moved to Jackson Heights, 
Queens, in 1949 with her husband Jack. Mary Lu was quick to engage in 
her community and in her local church, and we were just as quick to 
forgive Mary Lu for her Brooklyn past.
  Mary Lu's foray into politics started when she joined the Amerind 
Democratic Club. She went on to volunteer at Queens County Democratic 
Headquarters, where she became a full-time member of the staff in 1956. 
While working at county headquarters, Mary Lu served some of Queens 
County's finest political leaders, including Moses Weinstein, Jim Roe, 
and my predecessor Tom Manton, and her influence on them and our 
community was felt and has been felt by all of us since.
  No political event or dinner has been held without Mary Lu and her 
charm. She helped to welcome such dignitaries and luminaries as John 
Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Governor Hugh Carey, Mario Cuomo, 
Mayor Ed Koch, David Dinkins and President Bill and Senator Hillary 
Clinton and welcomed them into our Queens County home.
  Her intelligence, her warmth and kindness have made everyone who has 
come into contact with her feel welcome and comfortable.
  However, Mary Lu's reach went well beyond local politics. You have to 
keep in mind, Madam Speaker, that Queens County has 2.3 million people 
who live in just that county alone. When she was not at county 
headquarters, she was working to create a better Queens, and in 
particular, a better Rockaway, her hometown in Queens County. For 
example, every year she hosted an annual fundraiser that was a must-
attend event to help the children of St. Gertrude's Parish in Far 
Rockaway.
  On top of all she has done for others, most important to her, I 
think, is her role as a mother and as a grandmother. There is nothing 
that Mary Lu won't do or hasn't done for her two children, Steve and 
Jamie; and her three grandchildren, Matthew, Christopher, and Caroline; 
and their mom, Nancy.
  I have tremendous respect for Mary Lu and all she has accomplished 
throughout her years, but as her friend, I'm most proud of how she has 
led her family life, and I have always considered myself an extended 
member of that family, often enjoying many personal moments in the 
Rockaways, getting sand in my shoes with the Plunkett family.
  In the coming weeks, my fellow friends and colleagues in Queens 
County will gather to honor Mary Lu for her lifetime of service to our 
great borough and to our great city and to our great country. We will 
applaud her for her charity, her wit and political skill, and I want to 
thank her for being a mentor and a friend.
  Mary Lu, we love you and we congratulate you on your lifetime of 
achievement.

                          ____________________