[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 6373]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING BETTY HOLLANDER

 Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, on April 7, a pall passed over 
my hometown of Stamford, CT, when the news began to spread that Mrs. 
Betty Ruth Hollander, one of its leading citizens and a good friend of 
mine and my family, had passed away peacefully. A pioneer, 
entrepreneur, philanthropist, inventor, and a devoted wife, mother, and 
grandmother, Mrs. Hollander lived a truly remarkable life that touched 
and inspired almost everyone she met. Her passing is a great loss not 
just for those of us who were lucky enough to know her personally, but 
for the entire Stamford community and well beyond.
  In 1962, while raising four young children, Betty Hollander founded 
Omega Engineering out of her kitchen in Stamford. At a time when women 
faced pervasive discrimination in many industries, Betty utilized her 
steady work ethic and sharp business acumen to grow Omega from a firm 
focused on manufacturing a single line of thermocouples to a globally 
recognized business that produces over 100,000 state-of-the-art 
products for measurement and control.
  Omega's record of success gave Betty the opportunity to serve on a 
number of corporate boards, including Target Corporation--then Dayton 
Hudson Corporation--Peoples United Bank and Southern New England 
Telephone. She was also deeply involved with many charities, and served 
on the boards of Yale New Haven Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital and St. 
Vincent Hospital, Bridgeport, CT. among many other corporations and 
nonprofit organizations.
  Alongside all her success and busy schedule, Betty remained deeply 
committed to her family. Even when serving as corporate executive 
officer of Omega, when asked her occupation Mrs. Hollander would reply 
that she was ``a wife and mother.'' Later, she was able to add 
``grandmother'' to the title. These, she insisted, were the most 
important roles she ever played. In 1952, she married Milton Bernard 
Hollander, her best friend since high school, beginning a strong 58-
year marriage characterized by extraordinary mutual devotion. Together, 
they had four children, Eva Lynn, Steven, Aaron, and Joel, and nine 
grandchildren.
  To get a sense of the truly exemplary person that Betty Hollander 
was, all you need to do is look over an online forum set up to honor 
her memory. Already, over 100 individuals from all walks of life have 
taken the time to express their condolences and share their favorite 
memories of Betty. One long-time employee in Omega's shipping 
department remembers that, no matter how busy she was as CEO, Betty 
would always take the time out to get to know all of her employees 
personally. Others fondly recalled how she was never too busy to mentor 
younger employees and helped inspire them to pursue their dreams and 
demonstrate their fullest potential. In addition, there are 
testimonials from those who worked with her on her charitable 
endeavors, those who were friends, and even those who had never met 
her, but who were inspired by her success in business and her service 
to the community. On a personal level, Betty Hollander and my mother 
were great friends--two great Jewish mothers--and I have always 
treasured having had the opportunity to know her.
  If we are to be judged in life by the effect we have on others, than 
Betty Hollander's life was a sterling success!
  We honor Betty Hollander's memory and cherish her decency and 
friendship. I extend my deepest sympathies to Betty's beloved 
``Miltie'' Hollander and all of Betty's friends and family on their 
irreplaceable loss. They will be in my thoughts and prayers during this 
difficult period.

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