[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3166]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING CORINNE M. MOHRMANN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 14, 2016

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an extraordinary member 
of the East Bay community, Ms. Corinne Mohrmann upon the occasion of 
her retirement.
  Ms. Mohrmann was orphaned in early childhood and grew up in foster 
care, where she first learned the impact a great teacher could have on 
the life of a young person. After being introduced to a parish by a 
Catholic family she was placed with, she began helping to teach 
catechism as a young teenager.
  At the age of sixteen, she graduated from high school and 
successfully negotiated her enrollment in San Jose State University, 
where she supported herself by working as a kindergarten assistant at 
Saint Elizabeth's Day Home. While she was still a minor, she went on to 
successfully petition to be allowed entrance to the religious order of 
the Sisters of the Holy Family.
  She came to Oakland and the Saint Vincent Day Home in the late 1960s 
and with her friend, Sister Ann Maureen Murphy, began developing a 
vision for a safe, nurturing educational environment. With Sister 
Murphy, she authored a master's thesis at Pacific Oaks College that 
laid the foundation for the extensive restoration and development of 
Saint Vincent's Day Home that turned the Day Home into the incredible 
learning environment it is today.
  This is Ms. Mohrmann's fortieth year as acting executive director of 
Saint Vincent's. Saint Vincent's Day Home, which has been in operation 
since 1911, offers comprehensive educational programs, serves healthy 
meals, and provides access to health, dental, speech, and social 
services for toddlers and preschoolers.
  Over the course of Ms. Mohrmann's forty years of leadership, Saint 
Vincent's Day Home has expanded to serve more than 230 children of a 
diverse range of working poor families each day, including the 
homeless, victims of abuse, and those born exposed to drugs. Throughout 
the years, Ms. Mohrmann has made innumerable contributions to Oakland 
and the Greater Bay Area and has touched tens of thousands of lives 
with her kindness, wisdom, and determination.
  Ms. Mohrmann has frequently received honor and recognition for her 
work by the state and local legislative community and by the Department 
of Education. She was named City of Las Vegas's ``Educational Mother of 
the Year'', inducted to the Alameda County's Women's Hall of Fame in 
1996, and was the recipient of the Oakland Diocese's Monsignor 
McCracken Award.
  On behalf of the residents of California's 13th Congressional 
District, Ms. Corinne Mohrmann, I salute you. I thank you for a 
lifetime of service and congratulate you on your many achievements. I 
wish you and your loved ones the very best as you enjoy your well-
deserved retirement.

                          ____________________