[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 10] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 13405] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]IRVING KLOTHEN ______ HON. JOE SESTAK of pennsylvania in the house of representatives Monday, June 23, 2008 Mr. SESTAK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the life of a husband, father, grandfather, and Veteran, who, through hard work and determination, fulfilled the American dream. Irving Klothen, who passed away on Thursday, June 12, at age 84, believed strongly in the principles of democracy and took full advantage of his opportunities in the United States, building a prosperous family and successful career after narrowly escaping Nazi Germany. A German Jew born shortly after the end of World War I, Irving Klothen barely avoided deportation by the Nazis when he and his parents fled their native Berlin in 1941. Mr. Klothen displayed his strong work ethic and his resolve to make the most of his abilities as he simultaneously completed his secondary education at night school and worked full time for a picture-framing company. In 1943, Mr. Klothen entered the U.S. Army and his service included guarding German POWs in France, where he met the love of his life, Miriam Frank. He and Miriam, another Jewish refugee from Berlin, married in 1944. Following the war, Mr. Klothen graduated from New York University with a degree in chemical engineering and would receive several patents for his work with animal-feed additives. His expertise led to business trips that turned into family vacations with his son and wife across the globe. As an employee of American Cyanamid Co, he traveled to Europe, Latin America and Asia. Mr. Klothen, a loving father of his son Ken and loving grandfather of Erich and Rebecca, never forgot his roots and the family he left behind to move to the United States. In 1989, he visited the Berlin Jewish School, which he attended more than four decades earlier. He committed to assisting the new German Jewish community through work at the now- Jewish High School of Berlin. Even last year, he funded a program to allow teachers from that institution to visit Jewish schools in the United States. Madam Speaker, I ask you to join me in paying tribute to Irving Klothen. Through his beautiful family, and his contributions to Jewish communities in America and Germany, he has left a lasting contribution that we can all admire. ____________________