[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12366]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING YEHIA ``JOHN'' SHOUSHER ON HIS 90TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 28, 2017

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a Toledo area legend 
as he celebrates his 90th birthday, Yehia ``John'' Shousher. An 
American of Lebanese heritage, a proud U.S. citizen and indefatigable 
Ambassador of Goodwill, Mr. Shousher has been a one-of-a-kind Arab 
American leader in Greater Toledo since he adopted the community as an 
immigrant to our nation.
  Yehia, who with his brother ran a real estate investment company and 
J-S Vending, has been a leader in the Toledo community for decades as a 
civic-minded businessman as well as a Multi-Faith and Multi-Cultural 
Ambassador.
  Yehia has served as an administrator, public relations 
representative, and fund-raiser in the Muslim community for many years. 
His generosity has been felt in many homes and organizations in our 
community. At the same time, he has also focused his efforts on 
building back hope in his ancestral land of Lebanon. He worked to 
establish student exchanges, village development and medical education 
throughout Lebonon's Bekaa Valley.
  Yehia was one of the founders of the first mosque in Toledo, which 
was established in 1954 on East Bancroft Street. After the membership 
of the Mosque on East Bancroft Street outgrew the location, Yehia 
helped secure and plan the 48-acre campus that has become one of the 
icons of Perrysburg Township: the mosque and Islamic Center of Greater 
Toledo, which opened in 1983.
  The Center has been a fulcrum of the Muslim and Interfaith 
communities, working to promote freedom and tolerance of religion and, 
together with his cherished wife Emney, Yehia has been an integral part 
of its inner workings and work in the larger community.
  Always involved in events which promote cooperation among the faith 
and ethnic traditions in our community, Yehia's dedication to cultural 
diversity was recognized when he became a 2013 inductee into the Heroes 
of Compassion Gallery for Toledo.
  Yehia's commitment to the Toledo community has been passed on to his 
children, Hussein, Lila, Mona and Mariam, his 10 grandchildren and his 
six great-grandchildren.
  When I think of John, I see him carrying the flag of Lebanon at the 
annual Multi Faith Council's parade of nations at the University of 
Toledo on Martin Luther King holiday. I see him hospitably greeting 
guests with his wife Emney at events throughout our community welcoming 
new citizens. He has been instrumental in inviting religious leaders 
and public officials from throughout the world to visit Toledo and 
built our community into a place of gracious welcome.
  I see him setting up exchange programs for students from Arab 
speaking countries to transmit the learning and values of a free 
society. He graciously took the time to include me on unforgettable 
travels with his family through the village of his ancestors and 
adjoining territories. The memories of that journey greatly inform my 
work.
  Yehia with Emney at his side, and their bright smiles, have been 
indefatigable forces for good in our community for nearly a century. We 
wish them well in the coming years and consider our community fortunate 
to have them among us.
  The Quran 7:199 teaches, ``Show Forgiveness, Enjoin Kindness, Avoid 
Ignorance.'' Yehia ``John'' Shousher has spent his life on this earth 
demonstrating this message through word and deed. His legacy is writ 
large in his faith community, his family, the land of his birth and our 
region.
  We celebrate with Yehia as he reaches this milestone birthday of his 
90th year. We take this moment to thank him for all he has done for so 
many in our community, for his leadership, for his efforts to promote 
mutual understanding and tolerance of diverse cultures and foster 
acceptance of our differences. Best wishes to both John and Emney as he 
celebrates this special milestone.

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