[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 21]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 28957]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             A TRIBUTE TO MS. JOAN HEVONY LAWRENCE CRAWFORD

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                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 1, 2009

  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Ms. Joan 
Hevony Lawrence Crawford who was born in Costa Rica, Central America.
  In her young life, Ms. Crawford made the decision to immigrate to the 
United States with her husband and two young children in order to 
provide a better life for their family. While in America, she was 
determined to be a successful educated black woman and she continued 
her education by completing her high school diploma at the ``Boys and 
Girls'' High School in Brooklyn, New York. After receiving her high 
school diploma she then went on to Borough of Manhattan Community 
College (BMCC) to further her studies. While in school, she discovered 
that she has a passion for helping her community and decided to pursue 
a career in medicine.
  Ms. Crawford's passion and dedication was shown everyday of the 
thirty-five years she worked at Coney Island Hospital. She was always a 
hard worker and cared very much for her patients. While at Coney Island 
she received many promotions and eventually retired as a medical/
surgical technician.
  Even though she retired in 1996 from Coney Island Hospital, her life 
did not slow down. After retirement, she became very active in her 
religious life at East New York Seventh-day Church (ENYSDA). At ENYSDA 
she is a very active deaconess where she volunteers for Vacation Bible 
School, serves for funerals and performs daily church duties. When Ms. 
Crawford is not serving her community through her church, she enjoys 
activities such as bowling, shopping, needlepoint and family 
gatherings.
  Ms. Crawford's family includes her husband Dowel Stewart and two 
daughters, Sonia and Betty, four granddaughters, Nikita Griffith, 
Tenesha Lewis, Xiomara Okonkwo and Cherrise Lewis and four great 
grandchildren, Anaiya Davis, Gyselle Brown, Michael Brown and Laila 
Davis.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing Ms. 
Joan Hevony Lawrence Crawford.

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