In Honor of the Memory of Harold Letinski

Floor Speech

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Mrs. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of Harold Letinski. Mr. Letinski will forever be remembered for his unwavering dedication to the Downriver community, and he will be deeply missed.

Over the course of 101 years, Harold Letinski watched the United States transform and witnessed the great challenges, hardships, and victories our nation endured. A Downriver native, Mr. Letinski grew up in the Delray neighborhood of Detroit. As a child in the Great Depression, he rose at 5 a.m, each morning to deliver papers and knocked coal off train cars to ensure families in his neighborhood could stay warm. After graduating from Southwestern High School in Detroit, Mr. Letinksi dutifully served his country with the Coast Guard during World War II.

After the war, Harold Letinski returned to Michigan and committed himself to bettering his local community. Throughout his 20s, Mr. Letinski lived in Dearborn with his parents, but later moved to Allen Park after marrying his wife, Josephine, and started a family. He became the patriarch of two children, seven grandchildren, thirteen great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. He worked for over three decades at the Ford Rouge Plant in the hot strip mill and was a founding member of the Father Saylor Knights of Columbus in Allen Park. He was a generous volunteer, and encouraged all to live a life of faith, kindness, and compassion. Among his friends and community, Mr. Letinski was known as a devoted family man who was gentle, kind, and loving. He rarely was upset, and always had a kind word to offer to others. Mr. Letinski's passing is a loss to our entire community, but his warm legacy will forever endure. He and his generation's contribution to progress will always be remembered, and his strength, faith, and perseverance though turbulent times provides a lasting example of what can be achieved when we all work together.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life and legacy of Harold Letinski. We will forever remember his remarkable life, work, and community impact. May he rest in eternal peace.

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