[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 25227]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              A TRIBUTE TO JUANITA THERESA WILLIAMS LEVELL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 20, 2009

  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Juanita 
Theresa Williams Levell, an educator in my Congressional District.
  As a young woman working and attending college, Juanita met and fell 
in love with Bryan Lloyd Levell in June of 1960. They were married one 
year later. Bryan was a New York City Police Officer serving with the 
79th Precinct and was one of the first set of officers to serve in the 
newly created Patrol Brooklyn North. They were blessed with four 
children, Antoinette Jacobii Levell Brown, twins Adrian Mary Levell 
Peart Straker, the late Andrea May Levell Franklin, and one son Bryan 
James Levell. Mrs. Levell used to say having four children in five 
years was like having her own classroom. A graduate of the New York 
City public school system, she completed her undergraduate degree at 
Brooklyn College and received her Master's degree in Linguistics from 
Long Island University.
  Armed with her faith, a wonderful mother and supportive extended 
family, Juanita pushed ahead to achieve her goals. She began working in 
the New York City public school system as a teacher of English as a 
Second Language commonly known as E.S.L. Juanita was serving in a 
school that had students from well over 50 countries speaking over 100 
languages. She has taught from elementary through high school, as well 
as adult education. Her participation in conferences, seminars and 
workshops for over 30 years has kept her current and well qualified in 
her profession.
  Juanita retired in 2008 from her full-time teaching position but 
continues to work part-time as an English teacher. The connection to 
her community and her faith has been a steady part of Juanita's life 
from her work in the church, in school and in her neighborhood. Juanita 
has been a member of civic and social groups from childhood to the 
present. She has been active with Cornerstone Baptist Church, the 
Jewels S.C., NAACP, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.-Delta Rho Omega 
Chapter, Jack and Jill of America, Inc. (Brooklyn Chapter), American 
Association of University Women, Verona Place-Macon Street Block 
Association, United Federation of Teachers, National Council of Negro 
Women, Brooklyn Historical Society, Schomburg Center for Cultural 
Learning, Brooklyn College Alumni Association, Association of Blacks in 
Education--NY, Business and Professional Women's Organization of 
Cornerstone Baptist Church, Women's Caucus for Congressman Towns, and 
AARP.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing Juanita 
Theresa Williams Levell.

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