[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 24327]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO PATRICK JOYCE, JR.

  (Mr. ENGEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ENGEL. I rise today to speak on behalf of a fallen hero from my 
district. On October 2, Patrick Joyce, Jr., and his fellow firefighters 
responded to a call of a burning building in Yonkers, New York. He was 
searching the burning building when an explosion of flame hurled him 
and two other firefighters out of a third-story window. The other two 
survived with serious injuries; but, sadly, Patrick, married and the 
father of two little girls, did not survive.
  Patrick and his wife, Tara, met as teenagers in my neighborhood of 
Riverdale the year before I first came to Congress. They married and 
had two daughters, Charlotte and Isabella. The family was planning to 
visit an apple orchard this weekend. Instead, they attended his 
funeral.
  I also attended Patrick Joyce's funeral mass. He was beloved by not 
only his family but by his fellow firefighters and his community. The 
loss of any life is one to be mourned, but the loss of a life such as 
Patrick's is doubly devastating. The Nation truly honors people like 
Patrick who are willing to risk their lives to save others.
  Little Charlotte said of her father, ``This wasn't supposed to 
happen. Daddy fixed everything. He made everything better.'' Now he's 
gone at age 39, and we all miss him.
  It's become almost a cliche to praise our firefighters since the 
heroism shown on 9/11 but, for me, there will never be enough. Patrick 
Joyce, Jr. was taken from us far too early. On behalf of his wife, 
Tara; his children, Charlotte and Isabella; his friends and family; and 
the people of Yonkers, I would like to state for the record, in 
conclusion, in the words of Charlotte, that this was not supposed to 
happen. You did make everything better.
  Patrick, you will be sorely missed by everyone you touched in life 
and those of us who are saddened by your death.

                          ____________________