[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3687-3688]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO MANSOUR KARIM

 Mr. THUNE. Madam President, today I recognize Mansour Karim of 
Pierre, SD. Mr. Karim's life story is inspiring, and his contributions 
to his community and the State of South Dakota are worthy of 
commendation.
  Born and raised in Tehran, Iran, to a poor family, Mr. Karim dreamed 
of moving to the United States to pursue his higher education. That 
dream became a reality in November of 1950, when Mr. Karim arrived at 
the Port of New York and New Jersey with a limited English vocabulary 
and only $27 in his pocket. He had originally planned to attend the 
University of Michigan, but was worried that the growing Iranian 
immigrant population there would keep him from being immersed in the 
culture of the United States. He decided to study at Huron College in 
Huron, SD.
  Mr. Karim's journey to South Dakota was challenged by the barriers of 
an unfamiliar nation, but he had his faith and was often helped by 
strangers along the way. He studied at Huron College for a year before 
transferring to South Dakota State College, now known as South Dakota 
State University, from which he graduated in 1955 with a degree in 
civil engineering. He would later receive his master's degree in 
engineering from the same school. Mr. Karim served 35 years with the 
South Dakota Department of Transportation in South Dakota's capital 
city of Pierre. Though a dedicated civil servant, he found his passion 
doing something he never could have done in his home country of Iran.
  He invested in rental properties, starting modestly. Eventually, 
through hard work, wise investment, and trusted relationships, he 
achieved great success in providing affordable, quality rentals for 
residents in the Pierre area. Mr. Karim did not do this alone. His

[[Page 3688]]

wife, Ruth, provided support to the enterprise as the two of them 
raised their seven children.
  Ruth Karim cofounded South Dakota Right to Life and served as its 
executive director for 19 years. Prior to Ruth passing away in 2013, 
Mr. Karim worked with the Saint Mary's Foundation in Pierre to set up 
the Ruth Karim Endowment that would help nursing students who value 
protecting the sanctity of life and fund their education at Ruth's alma 
mater, the University of South Dakota.
  When looking back on his life, Mr. Karim is quick to recognize those 
who helped him move to South Dakota. He also remembers how, as a young 
child, he gave a beggar a penny, though he wished he had been able to 
give more. That giving nature has continued throughout his life, with 
Mr. Karim having given more than $2 million to charities throughout 
South Dakota, with a focus on education and children's needs. He 
created the Mansour and Ruth Karim Scholarship Endowment in 2004 at 
South Dakota State University. Due to these charitable contributions 
Mr. Karim has been the recipient of many awards, including being named 
Pierre's Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year in 2011.
  I, like the residents of Pierre and others across South Dakota, have 
had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Karim. His passion for the United 
States and the freedoms it affords and his genuine care for his 
community is contagious. In conversations, Mr. Karim will often say 
that his experience could only be possible in the United States. His 
story is another real-life example of the American dream as reality and 
what makes our Nation great, to succeed and to give back, so that 
others may succeed.
  It is for these reasons that I would like to extend my sincere 
gratitude to Mr. Karim for his generous philanthropic work and thank 
him for making South Dakota his home.

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