Recognizing the Life of Millie Ortiz Sheehan

Floor Speech

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Mr. LATIMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember the life and times of Millie Ortiz Sheehan. Today, we are naming a street after her in the town of Greenburgh where she did so much to help her community and her people.

Millie was born in New York City, the daughter of Miguel and Cruz Ortiz. She graduated from Baruch College where she met her husband, Francis. Together, they spent over 40 years married, with two children and four grandchildren.

Millie was a school psychologist with over 30 years of experience in the Greenburgh Central School District and still had time to be active in numerous community groups and worthwhile projects that helped her neighbors, particularly the youth of her town. She was a spectacular cook to boot.

Millie's loss came unexpectedly and tragically, but we remember her and her life, and we join the community in valuing her life spent caring about others. Her name on that street sign will ensure that Greenburgh will never ever forget her. Honoring the Life of Lynne Trotter Wagstaff

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Mr. LATIMER. Mr. Speaker, every now and then, there are people born who personify the essence of love in action. On November 2, 1946, Lynne Louise Trotter, later Lynne Louise Trotter Wagstaff, was born in Harlem, New York. She was one of those people.

Lynne attended St. Catherine of Siena and graduated from St. Pascal Baylon High School. She loved to dance and attended Johnson Dance Studio during her youth. Her summers were enriched, and she formed lifelong bonds at Camp Minisink, a camp for African-American youth in New York City.

Lynne met her husband of 47 years, William O. Wagstaff, Jr., at Central State. He was a Kappa and a football player, two criteria she later joked were on her checklist for potential mates in college. They were married on August 5, 1978, and purchased their first home in Mount Vernon, New York.

Although her childhood dream was to become an actress, she decided to pursue a career as an educator. Over the years, she was an elementary school teacher, a reading teacher, an assistant principal, and retired as the principal of P.S. 112, located in the Edenwald neighborhood of the Bronx.

Lynne spent her entire career in public education and felt it was her responsibility not only to educate but to provide care and safety for children who were often underserved and overlooked, either due to their race or economic status.

Lynne's love for her family was her foundation, and she poured into her family, always being a reliable supporter. Even when a relative might have felt that life's challenges left them fighting alone, she was always there.

Lynne leaves to carry on her legacy William O. Wagstaff, Jr.; William O. Wagstaff, III; William O. Wagstaff, IV; her daughter-in-law, Christina; and bonus children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, cousins, and friends who have become family.

It is an honor to recognize Lynne on the House floor today.

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