[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 18071-18072]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING BENNY FRIEDMAN OF SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 8, 2008

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today with my 
colleague Rep. Lynn Woolsey to honor a local hero from Santa Rosa, CA. 
Benny Friedman, a beloved philanthropist and the founder of Friedman's 
Home Improvement, passed away on July 9, 2008, at the age of 90, after 
a life that touched and inspired many.
  ``If we don't have it, you don't need it,'' the famous Friedman's 
slogan, is typical of Benny's way of doing business--with both humor 
and the needs of his customers in mind. And profits from the business 
were used to enhance the community through promotion and support of 
local organizations.
  Born in 1918 to a Russian Jewish family that had fled the pogroms, 
Benny worked hard throughout his youth. After his father's death, he 
left high school to support the family, learning about the hardware 
business by working in Mike Cohen's store. In 1940, he married Rosemary 
Zittin, a Russian immigrant, and shortly thereafter enlisted with his 
brother Joe to fight in World War II.
  After the war, the brothers purchased a junkyard in Petaluma and were 
later joined by their younger brother Harry. Over the decades, the 
business grew, thanks to the brothers' philosophy of working hard and 
treating everyone, customers and employees, with fairness and respect. 
During this time, their children and grandchildren joined the business,

[[Page 18072]]

and today there are stores in Santa Rosa, Sonoma, and Ukiah.
  Benny retired 20 years ago but continued to delight family, friends, 
and community with his warmth, humor, and good spirits. His wife 
Rosemary died in 2001, and in 2006, he married Irene, whom he had met 
at the senior lodge where they both lived.
  In Santa Rosa, Benny will be remembered as the co-founder of the 
Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, now one of Sonoma's County major 
venues. With his wife Rosemary and brother Joe, he built the Friedman 
Center, a community hall at Congregation Beth Ami. He donated 
generously to other local causes, giving back to the community which 
had enabled an impoverished immigrant to achieve success for himself 
and his family.
  Benny is survived by his wife Irene, his brother Harry, his children 
Bill Friedman and Debbie Chapman, four grandchildren and eight great-
grandchildren.
  Madam Speaker, Benny Friedman's life is an example for all of us that 
hard work, honesty, and caring for others lead to success. But Benny 
went far beyond that in giving back to this community and to all who 
knew him. I will miss Benny, but I am thankful to have had the 
opportunity to be one who knew him.

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