[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14793]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          REMEMBERING REGIS BOBONIS OF SEWICKLEY, PENNSYLVANIA

  (Mr. ROTHFUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROTHFUS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to remember an outstanding 
member of the Sewickley, Pennsylvania, community: the late Regis 
Bobonis, who passed away this past November 25.
  This great American was a man of many firsts. He was the first 
African American news reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the 
first African American television news reporter in Pittsburgh. 
Following his career in communications, he served as the public 
relations director for Mercy Hospital for 25 years.
  Prior to these achievements, Regis Bobonis served as a Petty Officer 
3rd Class during World War II, and he was a committed husband, father, 
and grandfather. He and his late wife, Hurley Williams, remained 
married for 53 years before her passing.
  Through his work for the Daniel B. Matthews Historical Society in 
Sewickley, Mr. Bobonis discovered there were more Tuskegee Airmen from 
western Pennsylvania than any other State in the Nation. His discovery 
led him to spearhead the campaign that resulted in the largest outdoor 
memorial to the Tuskegee Airmen, which is in Sewickley Cemetery, 
pictured to my left.
  Mr. Bobonis' sterling example and lasting contributions to our 
community will not be forgotten. May his family be consoled, and may he 
rest in peace.

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