[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 19721-19722]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING THE LIFE OF LOWELL HAWTHORNE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
New York (Ms. Clarke) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in tribute to a 
great man, a loving husband and father, a visionary entrepreneur, a 
philanthropist and humanitarian, my beloved and dear friend, Mr. Lowell 
Hawthorne of the Bronx, New York.
  Lowell Hawthorne immigrated to the United States from the beautiful 
island nation of Jamaica in 1981 and, like most immigrants to our 
country, began his pursuit of the American Dream.
  After working his way up the administrative ranks of the New York 
City Police Department as an accountant handling police pensions, he 
was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and started a home-based business 
doing tax returns for coworkers and friends on the force.
  Determined to provide for his family a life that he never had, in 
1989, inspired by his father and sisters, who were bakers, and with the 
financial support of his wife and siblings, he would go on to open the 
first Golden Krust Bakery, on East Gun Hill Road in the Bronx, New 
York. His specialties included the Jamaican beef patty, Caribbean baked 
goods, and other culinary delights.
  From there, his entrepreneurial talents, work ethic, and dogged 
determination allowed him to soar, methodically expanding his empire to 
include over 120 stores in nine States across the country. Golden Krust 
Caribbean Bakery & Grill would become the first Caribbean-American-
owned business in the United States to be granted a franchise license. 
Producing more than 50 million beef, chicken, and vegetable patties a 
year, Golden Krust is also the largest Caribbean-American-owned 
business in the Nation.
  Lowell has been described by his employees as a nice boss, a 
wonderful guy, a God-fearing man, also, as someone who cared deeply for 
his staff, his family, his community, and the beloved land of his 
birth, Jamaica.
  He leaves to cherish his legacy his devoted wife of 34 years, Lorna, 
and his four children, who all worked for the company: Daren, Omar, 
Monique, and Haywood.
  I admire Lowell for bringing our shared love of Jamaican culture to 
life on a larger scale through food and fellowship. His success story 
is an inspiration to all who continue to dream the American Dream. I 
personally was honored to have known him.
  As part of a tight-knit Caribbean diaspora and Jamaican community, he 
was considered a beloved part of my extended family, so much so that my 
mother adopted him, as mothers often do, and took him under her wing 
and into her heart. Lowell was more than a friend; he was a brother.
  Today, I honor his life and living legacy. I will miss my friend and 
will cherish him always. On behalf of the people of the Ninth 
Congressional District of New York, the Clarke family, and myself, I 
wish to express my most deepest, profound condolences to the family and 
friends of the honorable Lowell Hawthorne.

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