[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3639]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


 CONGRATULATING JUDGE WILLIAM NEALON ON THE OCCASION OF RECEIVING THE 
 PRESIDENT'S AWARD FROM THE FRIENDLY SONS OF ST. PATRICK OF LACKAWANNA 
                                 COUNTY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 10, 2008

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask you and my esteemed 
colleagues in the House of Representatives to pay tribute to U.S. 
District Court Judge William J. Nealon who was chosen to receive the 
President's Award from the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Lackawanna 
County, Pennsylvania.
  On December 15, 2007, Judge Nealon celebrated his 45th year as a 
United States District Court Judge. Appointed to the Federal bench by 
President John F. Kennedy on December 15, 1962, he was the youngest 
Federal judge in the country.
  Judge Nealon served the Middle District as Chief Judge from 1976 
until 1989. He has served on this court longer than any other judge in 
the history of the Middle District. Today, he is the third most tenured 
Federal judge in the nation out of 1,100 Federal jurists.
  The proud product of Scranton Public Schools, he later served in the 
United States Marine Corps from 1942 to 1945 where he held the rank of 
first lieutenant. He received a bachelor of science degree in economics 
from Villanova University in 1947 and was awarded his Juris Doctor 
degree from the Catholic University of America in 1950. Prior to being 
appointed to the Federal bench, Judge Nealon served on the Court of 
Common Pleas of Lackawanna County.
  In 1983, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, a professional 
society of more than 50,000 trial lawyers, named Judge Nealon the 
``Outstanding Federal Trial Judge in the United States.'' He has been 
the recipient of numerous community awards and has served as chairman 
of several local boards, including the University of Scranton, Mercy 
Hospital, and the Catholic Youth Center.
  Having served as president of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of 
Lackawanna County some 44 years ago, his dinner in 1964 was regarded as 
one of the most memorable the society has ever held. Robert F. Kennedy, 
the United States Attorney General, made his first public appearance 
that evening just 4 months after the tragic assassination of his 
brother, President John F. Kennedy. Judge Nealon today is the most 
senior of distinguished past presidents of the Friendly Sons of St. 
Patrick of Lackawanna County.
  Madam Speaker, please join me in congratulating Judge Nealon on this 
auspicious occasion. Judge Nealon's faithful service to his community 
and to his Nation is well known throughout northeastern and central 
Pennsylvania and has been an inspiration to all whose lives he has 
touched.

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