[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 8628]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                IN RECOGNITION OF CYNTHIA SCHUMAN BANKS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 3, 2015

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Cynthia Schuman Banks, an 
accomplished artist and designer, a philanthropist and community 
leader, and one of the most youthful people I know. I am blessed to 
count Cynthia as one of my closest friends.
  Cynthia has extraordinary talent and whatever she touches turns into 
a treasure. She has painted superb portraits including those of Senator 
Dianne Feinstein, Reverend Jessie Jackson, Dr. Linus Pauling and Vice 
President Walter Mondale. When former Soviet Union President Mikhail 
Gorbachev visited San Francisco in the early 1990s, Cynthia was 
selected to present him with one of her abstract paintings. She remains 
an avid painter to this day and recently had many of her works 
displayed at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
  Cynthia was born in Oakland, California. She attended Stanford 
University before she started her career as a fashion designer at Lilli 
Ann, a San Francisco-based clothing company that her father Adolph 
Schuman founded in 1934. It was named for Cynthia's mother Lillian and 
renowned for its good workmanship and high quality fabrics.
  Adolph Schuman started the company in two rented rooms with $800 he 
borrowed. Fifty years later, Lilli Ann reported retail sales of $40 
million. Mr. Schuman bought large quantities of French and Italian 
fabrics from small companies which helped revitalize those countries' 
war-ravaged textile industries. Cynthia significantly contributed to 
the legacy of Lilli Ann. She designed the most successful suit in the 
company's history.
  In 1965, she changed her professional focus from fashion design to 
interior design and founded Benatar and Cole Interiors. She has 
transformed many prestigious homes in the Bay Area with her unique and 
exquisite touch.
  In 1991, Cynthia met Dan Banks and they married the next year. For 
the last 23 years, Cynthia and Dan have made family their priority. 
They are the proud parents of Darrell Benatar, Denise Benatar, Pamela 
Banks Joyce and Tom Banks and grandparents Trevor, Parker, always-
remembered Emily, Isabel, Maya, Colin, Sandra, Michael and Taylor. To 
say that Cynthia is a people person would be the understatement of the 
century--she loves people and loves bringing them together. Dinner 
parties at the Schuman Banks are must-attends for all of us.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that the House of Representatives rise with me to 
honor a remarkable woman who lives life with joie de vivre and my most 
favorite friend Cynthia Schuman Banks on the occasion of her birthday. 
She continues to enrich our lives every day.

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