[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15374-15375]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING MIKE PUSKAR

  Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, only a few people in your lifetime stand 
out as people of the highest caliber, people who truly care about 
making the world a better place not only for the present generation but 
also for the next generation and many generations to come.
  My dear friend Mike Puskar was one of those rare people. My wife 
Gayle and I consider ourselves extremely lucky to have even known a man 
of his caliber, let alone be dear friends with him for many years.
  Mike passed away on Friday after a long battle against cancer.
  I first met Mike in the early 1980s before the start of a football 
game in the then-gravel parking lot at the WVU stadium, a place we both 
truly loved. The generator in his motor home was not working, and, 
luckily, the generator in my brother's RV that I was using did work. So 
Mike plugged into our RV that day, and we were plugged in thereafter.
  Mike was a man whose friendship was unconditional. It was not about 
whether you lined up exactly with his beliefs. He supported you as a 
person.
  Mike dedicated his life to helping others and to making a real 
lasting impact in West Virginia. He had a tremendous heart and a strong 
sense of giving. Mike truly epitomized the word ``friend'' at every 
level.
  We can see Mike's handprint everywhere--at West Virginia University, 
at Mylan Park, and in charitable organizations throughout West Virginia 
that serve those in need.

[[Page 15375]]

  Mike loved to build things--whether it was his company or the 
waterfront in Morgantown. He gave the largest gift in the history of 
West Virginia University because he truly believed in making our State, 
our schools, and our hospitals the best in the country. In fact, that 
gravel parking lot where we first met at the WVU stadium is now the 
site of the Mylan Tailgate Tent. But the thing Mike was most proud of 
was when he helped people build their own lives--and those people who 
knew Mike know exactly what I am talking about.
  Mike was a pioneer who started Mylan Pharmaceuticals to give people 
access to affordable quality medicine. Mylan is a homegrown West 
Virginia company that he started with his Army buddy Don Panoz in 1961. 
He led Mylan until 2002, and Mylan has continued to grow and has now 
become the third largest generic and specialty pharmaceutical 
manufacturer in the world.
  There are so few people like Mike, whose legacy will echo for 
generations to come. On Thursday, his friends and family will gather to 
pay tribute to his legacy when he is laid to rest in Morgantown, WV--a 
town he loved and gave so much to improve.
  Tomorrow and every day our thoughts and prayers will go out to the 
entire Puskar family, Mike's friends and colleagues, and everyone whose 
life he touched, as all of them mourn the loss of this great man.
  While every one of us is truly going to miss Mike, he truly will 
never leave us. We all have beautiful memories of Mike that will last a 
lifetime, and his legacy to West Virginia and its people will remain in 
our hearts forever.

                          ____________________