[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 402]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING STANLEY ISRAELITE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Courtney) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COURTNEY. Madam Speaker, today, I rise to remember one of eastern 
Connecticut's most generous, caring, and devoted citizens, Stanley 
Israelite.
  Stanley passed away this past December at age 89 and leaves behind an 
enduring powerful legacy in his native Norwich and throughout 
Connecticut. I ask the U.S. House to join me in expressing condolences 
to his wife, Linda Hershman; and his four children, Michael Israelite, 
Abby Dolliver, Mindy Wilkie, and Jon Israelite.
  After his passing, a memorial service was held at Beth Jacob 
Synagogue, which was the scene of an overflow crowd of people from all 
walks of life. His longtime boss, former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd; 
Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman; State legislators; mayors and former 
mayors; small business owners; labor union leaders; and his neighbors 
and friends from the city he loved, Norwich, Connecticut, were all in 
attendance.
  Senator Dodd delivered a stirring eulogy filled with humor and 
passion, describing Stanley's amazing life of service. As Senator Dodd 
related, Stanley dedicated his life to helping others.
  After starting his career in his family-owned jewelry store, he 
uncovered his true passion, assisting members of his community with any 
problem, anytime, after intervening with a family in crisis. He left 
the business, and after holding a variety of human service and business 
advocacy positions in Norwich--and earning citizen of the year and 
citizen of the decade awards in the 1960s--went on to work for Chris 
Dodd.
  Stanley ran his constituent service programs, beginning in 1974 with 
Dodd's election as Second District Congressman, the seat that I now 
have the honor to hold, and later as State director to Senator Dodd 
after Chris' election to the Senate in 1980.
  Stanley remained a fixture in Connecticut politics, known for his 
consummate dedication to helping constituents get the help they needed. 
He spent decades ensuring that Connecticut citizens received help from 
the VA, Medicare, and Social Security; solved thorny immigration 
problems; helped small business owners get their feet under them; and 
then doggedly pushed forward projects to improve local communities.
  Today, one of the projects he spearheaded, an industrial park in 
Norwich that never would have been realized without Stanley's efforts, 
now bears his name, the Stanley Israelite Norwich Business Park, 
renamed in his honor in 2005. In 1995, Stanley was recognized as U.S. 
News and World Report's 12 Indispensable Americans.
  For all the awards and honors that his community rightly bestowed on 
him throughout his career, Stanley, himself, valued the thank you notes 
that he received from grateful constituents above everything. In 1995, 
he explained to a reporter from The New London Day that the highest 
honor in the Dodd office was to post a constituent thank you letter on 
the office refrigerator. ``That is our glory,'' he said. ``If you are 
on the refrigerator, then you have done a good job.''
  Stanley's personal mantra--which he instilled in his colleagues, 
friends, and family--was always, ``Don't forget the people.'' After a 
lifetime of service to his community, the people he helped and everyone 
who had the privilege to know him will certainly never forget him.

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